Animal Crossing High School
by Elizabeth Prower
Summary: A very old fanfic I'm rewriting; with a slight Sonic the Hedgehog crossover. A random and whimsical tale about two girls who are sent on a mission to investigate the motives of a new authoritative figure in an elite private high school, while another potential enemy lurks beneath the surface.
1. Chapter 1

**Animal Crossing High School**

_By Elizabeth Prower_

DISCLAIMER: All Animal Crossing characters copyrighted to Nintendo, all Sonic the Hedgehog characters (who will appear later) belong to SEGA, and all human characters copyrighted to themselves. Enjoy the story! 8D

Chapter 1-

It was a peaceful September day in the town of Rosebud, a tiny town right outside of the city. The sun was shining, its rays poking through the fluffy white clouds rolling by, while birds chirped as they flew past it. Sara Asyter, an ordinary resident of Rosebud, took advantage of the weather as she used this time to water her flower garden outside of her vast, red mansion. She had just finished watering her roses and was moving on to the pansies, when her best friend, Niki Harley came running up to her, nearly stepping on a patch of daisies in the process. The sound of her friend's footsteps startled Sara, causing her to almost drop her silver watering can.

"Ah!" Sara exclaimed, stumbling to avoid crushing her precious flowers, when she noticed Niki's presence. "Oh, hey Niki. What's up?"

"I need to tell you something," Niki replied. "Like, right now." Surprised, Sara hesitated, before nodding and inviting Niki inside her house.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, deep in the woods behind the city, was a small, dark, secluded building. The people of Rosebud assumed that this building was nothing more than a former resident's old house that was slowly decaying into oblivion. Then again, none of these residents dared to venture into the woods; otherwise they'd know that the building belonged to an evil scientist by the name of Dr. Eggman, who was plotting at the very moment. The overweight, furry mustached doctor's base was filled with robots and other various contraptions that were built for each of his previous plots for world domination.<p>

"Alright, you two, here's the plan," Eggman said to his two minions, a black and red hedgehog and a dark haired human girl. "I have you both enrolled in Animon High, the elite private school in the city outside of this puny little town. Your job is to uncover everything about the education system, and then once you have enough information, I want you to try to hack it so that I can use it to turn these students into my minions to build the Eggman Empire! It's foolproof! Muahahahaha!"

"Going to school? Lame," the girl scoffed. "Besides, didn't you say that about the plan with the space colony ARK-?"

"Oh, don't be so negative!" Eggman responded briskly. "Anyway, I have your uniforms for you. I had one of my robots steal them from their school store." Eggman reached under his metal desk and chucked two packages at his subordinates, before returning to his work on the computer.

"Uh…what kind of uniforms are these?" the hedgehog asked, holding up a frilly white blouse with a satin red ribbon tied to the collar, a royal blue pleated skirt, white knee socks, and black ballerina flats. The human girl gave him a strange look as she extracted a plain white blouse, black trousers, a black tie, black socks, and black dress shoes.

"Switch them if I gave you the wrong ones," their boss said, with his back to them. "My bad." The two minions barely glance at each other as they quickly shove their packages into each other's arms.

"Ugh, not my taste," the girl commented, the frown clearly in her voice as she scrutinizes the outfit after switching with her partner.

"Now, get yourselves ready!" Eggman commanded, ignoring the girl's previous words. "You've got a lot of work ahead of you starting tomorrow! Get moving!"

* * *

><p>"Tortimer wants us to go undercover as students?" Sara asked, staring at Niki in shock, as they sat at her modern table. "Why?"<p>

"Did you hear? They just got a new superintendent, right after the old one quit for no reason," Niki answered. "He thinks that it's more than a coincidence and wants us to check it out, you know, to figure out what exactly the new superintendent is doing there. What if it's Tipper and Bob trying to take over Animon High?"

"Animon High?" Sara questioned, also referring to the two girls' arch enemies. "I don't think those two are smart enough to take over a prestigious school like Animon. Hasn't your mom been pushing you to go to that school for some time now?"

"Yeah," Niki replied. "Oh, come on, Sara! High school would be fun!"

"I don't know, Niki," Sara said thoughtfully. "I've heard some pretty scary stories about high school, and I like my homeschooling. Besides, we're not turning fourteen for another six months!"

"That won't matter," Niki reassured her. "We'll just be old enough to start out as freshmen. It's like we'll be skipping a grade."

"Well, if you say so, Niki, I guess," Sara said, after a moment of thinking. "It's a private school, so we have uniforms?"

"Yup!" Niki replied, handing her friend a white blouse with a red ribbon, a blue skirt, and white knee socks. "These don't look so bad, right? You can even bust out your new ballet flats with them."

"They could be better," Sara responded, tossing the uniform aside on her modern dresser. "But they'll do."

"Great! So it's settled then!" Niki exclaimed, when her pink flashy cell phone rang. "Hello?" As she said this last word, she quickly flipped her phone open and pressed the green "talk" button.

"Niki?" a barely high-pitched voice sounded from the other end.

"Kitty?" Niki answered, surprised to hear her and Sara's other friend on the phone. "What's up?"

"I heard you and Sara are starting at Animon High tomorrow," their friend, Kitty Kingsley, said from the other line. "Don't forget to get your school supplies together. I'll get you guys your books, schedules, and other things you'll need when you get there tomorrow. Meet me in the school foyer at seven-thirty in the morning."

"Uh, sure, okay," Niki replied, before mouthing to Sara Kitty's name, so she knew who it was. "Thanks Kitty."

"No problem! I'll see you two tomorrow morning!" Kitty said.

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow. Bye Kitty," Niki said before they both hung up, when Niki turned back to Sara. "Well, Sara, my friend, it looks like our journey is starting…now."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-

The next day was the girls' first day at Animon High. They entered the school at exactly seven-thirty A.M., decked out in their new school uniforms. They stopped in the foyer, where they met with a brown cat wearing the same outfit.

"Hey guys!" Kitty said, smiling. "Glad you're here. Allow me to show you around!" Niki and Sara spent the next twenty minutes following Kitty through the school, as she pointed out each of the classrooms in every hallway. "Let's see…there's the science lab," Kitty trailed off, pointing to one large classroom. "There's a history classroom, there's an English classroom, there's the library, there's a math classroom…Oh! By the way, Kiki, Tangy, and everyone else are here too. We'll all be helping you with…whatever you're here doing."

"Great! We need all the help we can get!" Sara exclaimed, as Kitty continued running useless information about the school off the top of her head. After they finished their tour, they returned to the main hallway of the school, where long rows of red and blue lockers stretched from one end to another.

"And by the way, watch out for Chrissy and the Bratz Catz," Kitty added, lowering her voice. "They're evil!"

"Who?" Niki asked bluntly.

"The Bratz Catz is this nasty clique, led by the queen bee, Chrissy Kingsley," Kitty answered. "They may be the most popular girls in school, but they're total bitches!"

"Good to know," Sara responded, her brown eyes flashing with worry.

"Wait, did you say Kingsley?" Niki asked, after barely absorbing the information given to her. "Whoa, are you guys, like, related or something?"

"No, we just have the same last name," Kitty replied, when a loud, chiming beep sounded. "There's the bell. See ya!"

"Yikes! We have to get our schedules!" Niki exclaimed, as Kitty was running off. "And our lockers! Come on, Sara!" Sara quickly nodded, and the two girls speed walked to the main office, passing a black and red hedgehog and a human girl upon walking through the glass double doors.

"Marissa Tomoe? Really?" the hedgehog asked, a short chuckle escaping his mouth as he looked over at the girl's schedule. "Is that the best you could come up with?"

"Shut up Shadow, I bet _you_ didn't come up with anything better," Marissa retorted.

"You're right, I didn't," Shadow responded, adding another snicker at the end. "Check it out." Marissa tilted her head to glance at Shadow's schedule as he extended it towards her.

"Shadow Awesomeface? Wow," the human replied with a scoff. "Just wow." The bell rang a second time, startling everyone in the halls but them. "Well, I'm heading off to class," Marissa said, turning to leave. "Peace." With that, she pivoted on her feet and walked off, until she slipped inside a miniature classroom marked "Room 205".

"Later," Shadow muttered, before speeding off in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Niki and Sara sat in two white leather chairs in the main office, as they waited to receive their schedules. After minutes of waiting, the receptionist handed each of them a sheet of paper, with a long list of classes inscribed on each one.<p>

"Thank you!" the girls said in unison as they claimed their schedules and began reading them, looking up in front of them every few seconds as they exited the main office.

"Alright, let's see," Niki started. "You're going to Room 202 for science, while I have to go to Room 205 for history, and then we meet up in Room 201 for math."

"And then we'll see where we go from there," Sara finished for her. "Okay, I'll see you in math, then." Then the girls ran off to find their classrooms, taking off in opposite directions. Seconds later, they turn and head the other way upon realizing that they were going in the wrong direction. They laugh and wave to each other as they pass each other, before they disappear into their classrooms. Niki slowed her walk to a casual stroll as she entered Room 205, where she saw a familiar orange cat with a green leaf atop her head sitting in the front row of the classroom.

"Hey Niki!" the orange cat greeted warmly, before slightly bending over to pull out the chair next to her.

"Hey Tangy!" Niki said, sitting down while simultaneously tossing her bag of books underneath the tiny, wobbly desk. Once she was settled into her seat, Niki peeked around the room to see some of her new classmates, her face that of intrigue as she saw a navy blue bear cub, a white rabbit, a golden furred dog, a white dog, a white cat with a blue face, and a human girl with long, wavy, brown hair, and light blue eyes. Niki brushed a few strands of her perfectly straight blonde hair off her face as she took an extra moment to give the other human, who was seated in the back near the window, a second look, as if she were admiring her, before turning her head back towards the bear cub.

"Poncho's here," Tangy whispered, as she too glanced over at the bear cub. "I remember him always hanging out with Tipper and Bob. We should watch him; he might be a spy for them."

"Of course," Niki replied, stifling a laugh. "They probably sent him here to see if Sara and I showed up to stop their evil little plan! I say ha to that." She turned her head around, and noticed the white, blue-faced cat sitting down one desk over. "Hi," the blonde girl said to the cat, giving a small wave, but then sighed as the cat glared at her and turned away.

"Don't worry about it," Tangy whispered to Niki, referring to the other cat. "That's Mitzi Windsor, a member of the Bratz Catz. She's stuck-up towards everyone."

"I see," Niki responded with a small nod, when their teacher, Mr. Blathers, lazily trudged into the room.

"Good morning class," Mr. Blathers said tiredly while yawning. "Today we're going to be reading about the early civilizations in Animal Crossing. Hoo." Mr. Blathers mumbled a few more words as he collapsed into his desk, before everyone heard loud snores emanating from the brown bird. He was asleep.

"O…kay then…" Niki said, blinking in surprise. "Wow, he sure is tired today."

"Oh no, this happens all the time," Tangy replied. "Probably from all of the late night clubbing he does in the city." Niki took a moment to process this thought, and then turned to gawk at Tangy when she realized what the orange cat just said.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in Room 202, Sara met up with Kitty again, and the two took their seats in the center of the classroom.<p>

"Hi again," Kitty greeted with a grin. "Awesome we have at least one class together."

"Hi!" Sara responded, as she saw a white cat with yellow eyes enter the room. "Yeah, it is great." The two friends poked their heads around as they watched other students walk in, books in hands and paws.

"Hey, Kiki's here," Kitty said, gesturing to a black cat with yellow eyes, who was being approached by the white cat.

"Hm?" Sara asked, turning around. "Oh wow, I didn't know Kiki was in this class."

"Out of my way, Kiki," the white cat barked. "I sit here. Go away."

"Back off, Olivia," Kitty commanded, standing up and stepping towards the white cat. "Leave her alone."

"Shut up, nerd," Olivia scoffed, turning on Kitty, while Kiki stood there awkwardly.

"Make me, bitch," Kitty shot back.

"Loser," Olivia muttered as she walked away, crossing to the other side of the room.

"Whore," Kitty murmured, sitting back down. "Ugh…that's Olivia Mason, one of the Bratz Catz. Rosie Carlisle and Mitzi Windsor are also in the clique, but the one girl you really have to watch out for is Purrl Furris. She's the leader, next to Chrissy."

"Well okay then," Sara said, trying to sound unfazed by the scene.

Later at lunch, Niki brushed past a few other students to enter the cafeteria, a brown paper bag clutched in her hands. Her eyes scanned the cafeteria, searching for Sara or Kitty, but she didn't see them, or anyone else she knew. She started to walk through the vast room, now looking for any place to sit.

"Niki, over here!"

Niki whirled around, and right behind her, Sara, Kitty, Tangy, Kiki, and their other two friends, a pink dog named Cookie, and an orange dog named Biskit, were all gathered at one large round table. Niki smiled with relief and took a seat in between Sara and Tangy, just as everyone was digging into their lunches. The lunch period rolled by, and they continued to chat and eat, when suddenly they heard a singsong, yet sarcastic voice ring in their ears from behind.

"Well, look who we have here."

Everyone looked up, and they found themselves face to face with four cats and a blonde human girl, who towered over them with menacing grins.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

"So, I hear these humans are new, eh?" the blonde human questioned, while her feline companions snickered a little. "We could always use some more losers around here to throw our crap at."

"Shut up Chrissy!" Kitty yelled angrily. "You have no business coming over here and bothering us, so get the hell out of here!"

"Oh, stop," Mitzi said. "We're just giving them a warm welcome." As she said this, Rosie and Purrl leaned over and shoved the group's lunches off the table.

"Hey!" Niki exclaimed, while everyone else gasped and groaned. "That was totally uncalled for!"

"Just stay out of our way and don't ruin our fun here, 'kay?" Rosie mocked in a singsong voice, when a human fist smashed into her face, causing her to stumble back. "Ow! Hey!" Niki's and Chrissy's friends both turned their attention to the human who had just decked the blue cat. Marissa.

"I'm sorry, who died and made you queen bee?" the brunette asked sarcastically, before kicking Purrl in the gut.

"Hmph! Well, see ya!" Chrissy said, winking, as she, Mitzi, and Olivia started to walk away, fake giggling, while Purrl and Rosie writhed on the floor in pain, when Marissa's hand collided with Olivia's face, with much force. The white cat yelped and leaped backwards, before bending down to pull Rosie and Purrl to their feet. Chrissy and Purrl gaped at their friends in surprise, until they were lifted off the ground by their arms and flipped over, hitting the ground with a loud _crash_. The other students in the cafeteria watched in shock and awe as Marissa started out of the room, when they began clapping, starting off slowly, but progressing into a loud applause. Chrissy and her crew quickly ambled to their feet and speed walked out of the opposite doors of the cafeteria, humiliated as they felt their egos bruising up.

"Those little…" Sara murmured. "Now I know why they're called the _Bratz_ Catz. But shit, that was awesome! Wasn't it, Niki- wait, Niki?" Sara had turned to address her friend, when she realized that she was no longer sitting beside her. "Hey, where did she go?" the black-haired girl wondered, scratching her head.

"Dude, that was amazing!" Niki exclaimed as she followed Marissa out of the cafeteria, her pace quickening as she tried to catch up to her. "Thanks a lot for that one, my friends and I really appreciate it."

"Uh, sure, no problem," Marissa replied, her back to the blonde human. "It was nothing, really. I can't stand snotty girls like that, so I had to teach them a lesson."

"Yeah, they annoy me too," Niki responded. "By the way, I think I've seen you in my history class, but I never got your name."

"Marissa," Marissa answered blankly. "Marissa Tomoe."

"Cool! My name's Niki. Niki Harley," Niki replied, grinning. "Say, can I call you M-Dawg?"

"No, no you may not," Marissa answered emotionlessly.

"Please?" Niki pleaded jokingly. "Pretty please?"

"No," Marissa answered flatly, when she noticed a black and red blur zoom past one corner of the hallway, turning onto another. "I have to go now. See you in class." With that, Marissa took off, heading in the direction of the speedy blur.

"Okay, see you later!" Niki said, smiling and waving, before lowering her voice to a mutter. "M-Dawg."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" The brunette girl called out behind her with annoyance.

"Nothing! Later!" Niki replied, before she ran off in a fit of giggles. Marissa rolled her eyes and continued on her way, until she caught up with the blur, who turned out to be none other than Shadow.

"Making some friends, are we, M-Dawg?" Shadow said teasingly.

"Don't you even start on that horribly obnoxious nickname," Marissa snapped.

"Fine," Shadow responded. "Anyway, I saw what you did in the cafeteria awhile ago, and there's a video of it on YouTube already. At least five hundred people have seen it, and it's gaining more views by the second."

"Bitchy girls like that really piss me off," Marissa said. "They drive me up a fucking wall."

"We don't want you getting sidetracked from our mission," Shadow reminded her. "And we certainly don't want you blowing our cover, so try to lay low and stay focused on the mission."

"Right, the mission," Marissa repeated. "Of course."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-

Cookie and Biskit had gone to history class, while Kiki and Tangy left for their science class. As the bell rang, Niki, Sara, and Kitty arrived in a kitchen like classroom for home economics and took their seats at a large, square table. Sitting at the table behind them was Rosie, as well as two human girls, one with green ponytailed hair and green eyes, and one with blonde, curly hair and brown eyes. They had easygoing, carefree smiles on their faces, as if being at a table with one of the meanest girls in school didn't bother them. At the table across from them were three more human girls: the first with red poufy hair, with a tad of frizz to it, and brown eyes, the second with wavy, ponytailed blonde hair and purple eyes, and the third with short brown hair and grayish-blue eyes. Behind those girls were a light brown koala of medium height, a petite white rabbit, and a darker brown cow who towered above her tablemates. Niki looked around to check out the room décor, which consisted only of shelves of cooking utensils and trays, when she glanced down at her own table. Laid out before her, and everyone else, were tin sheets, a roll of dough, a bag of chocolate chips, and various other standard ingredients, as well as random cooking appliances, such as a mixer, a bowl, and oven mitts.

"Oh, boy! We're making cookies today!" Niki exclaimed happily, her mouth watering at the thought.

"Yay! I love cookies!" the blonde girl sitting behind her cheered. "They're the greatest thing since sliced bread!"

"Totally!" Niki agreed, turning around to face her classmate and shake hands. "Hi, I'm Niki Harley."

"Katrina Kingsley," the other girl replied with a friendly smile. "And this is my friend, Thorn Burg. She's a freshman, but I'm a senior here, just clogging up my schedule with electives now that I've fulfilled most of my graduation requirements."

"Sounds fun," Niki said with a laugh, before gesturing to her friends, first the curly dark-haired human, then the brown cat. "These are my friends, Sara Asyter, and Kitty Kingsley. Are you two related by any chance?"

"No, Niki," Kitty answered. "We just share a last name."

"Obviously not, Niki," Sara said. "They don't even look like. One of them is a human, and the other one is a cat."

"Maybe one of them was adopted?" Niki suggested. Sara facepalmed.

"No, Niki, just no," Sara mumbled, grabbing the mixer and bowl. Niki tossed in the flour, sugar, baking soda, and chocolate chips, as Sara plugged the mixer into a nearby outlet. Sara took the bowl and turned on the mixer, but nothing happened.

"Huh?" Sara asked, flipping the power switch on and off for a few seconds. "Is this thing broken or something?"

"I know! Let's use this!" Niki proposed, reaching over and picking up a blender.

"Niki, are you sure that's a good idea?" Kitty asked, unsure whether to be amused or confused.

"Positive!" Niki answered, pouring the contents of the bowl into the blender. "This basically does the same job as a mixer, only faster!"

"Hold on, let me get the lid," Kitty said, reaching over to the counter where the blender was originally resting, but Niki had already turned the device on. Cookie dough splattered across the room, onto walls, and onto the faces and uniforms of the girls. Sara pressed the off button on the blender, before she joined in with the other girls as they stared down at themselves in horror.

"Heheh, oops," Niki said, taking the lid from Kitty and placing it on top of the blender, oblivious to the death glares she was receiving from the other girls.

"Nice," Sara muttered, clearly irritated by her friend's carelessness. Kitty poured what was left over from the blender back into the bowl, before nudging the bowl in Sara's direction.

"Here, Sara, you can stir," Kitty said, handing Sara the wooden spoon.

"Okay," Sara said, easing up as she stirred really fast, before they started placing blobs of dough onto their tin sheets. They filled up both trays, and then Sara took it to the oven and placed the trays in. Twenty minutes later, the cookies were golden brown.

"Ooh, those look good!" Niki squealed, starting to drool.

"Please, Niki. I'd rather not have the cookies become soggy from your saliva," Sara said, pushing the trays away from Niki. "But yeah, they do."

"Katrina's, Thorn's, and Rosie's look good too," Kitty commented, pointing to Thorn, who was holding a plate of sugar cookies. Niki and Sara took notice of this too, and so the class spent the rest of the period tasting each other's cookies, and they all turned out to be delicious.

* * *

><p>Later after school, Niki, Sara, Kitty, and Tangy were hanging out in Niki's classical themed bedroom, chatting as they did their homework.<p>

"Hey guys, you'll never guess what I just heard earlier today!" Kitty began as she was reading through her biology textbook. "Apparently Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends were sent on the same mission, and will be going to our school!"

"Really? That's awesome!" Niki exclaimed.

"Sweet!" Tangy chimed in.

"So, do Sonic and his friends start tomorrow?" Sara asked Kitty.

"Yeah," Kitty replied as she closed her book and tossed it aside, before picking up her history textbook. "Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge will all be there tomorrow morning." Everyone paused to ponder this new information, before continuing with their homework.

"Yay! We're done!" Niki cheered, as she dumped most of her books off the bed, some landing in her glittery red backpack, others missing and hitting the floor with loud _thud_s.

"Alright! Finally!" Tangy said, collecting her books and stuffing them into her orange and green, polka-dot oversized purse, designed by GracieGrace herself, which doubled as her backpack. "Let's get some McDonald's!"

"Yeah!" Everyone else called out in agreement, as they too packed their belongings into their backpacks, before dashing out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-

The next day, Niki walked into gym class and peered around the room at her classmates, when she noticed an orange two-tailed fox. _It's Tails! Oh my gosh! _Niki thought as she glanced up a little, when she realized that he was looking back at her.

"Hi!" the human girl said with a warm smile.

"Hi," the kitsune replied, returning the smile, when the shiny, red, rubber ball he was holding slipped through his fingers, rolling away.

"Hey, look! It's Tails from the Sonic team!" Poncho yelled, chucking a ball at Tails' head with excessive force. "Let's get him!"

"Uh oh. Dodgeball," Niki muttered. "Poor kid, he's totally screwed."

"Yeah! He's such a nerd!" Patty chimed in, throwing her ball at Tails' face.

"Ow!" Tails yelped in pain, as he stumbled onto the cold, shiny, hardwood floor.

"Haha, oh my God, that was funny as hell!" Niki exclaimed with laughter, holding her sides while she stood next to the home bleachers, when she shook her head and cut the giggles. "Wait, what am I saying? That's not nice! Hey! You leave him alone!" She stepped forward, facing the bullies. Poncho let out a "Hmph!" as he whipped a ball at the blonde, but she caught it. Niki glanced around, smirked, and then whipped the ball back. It ricocheted off the bleachers and hit both of them at once.

"Ow!" Poncho and Patty yelled in unison as they toppled over.

"That should take care of them," Niki said proudly, dusting herself off before going to help Tails to his feet. "Are you alright, kid?"

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine," Tails replied, getting up. "Thanks!"

"No problem!" Niki responded, smiling, when the bell rang. "Oh look, I have to go. I'll see you around!" With that said, Niki ran out of the gym and into the girls' locker room to change clothes before heading for her next class: algebra.

* * *

><p>Niki entered the classroom, books in hands, and was greeted by all of her friends. Unbeknownst to her, Tails was trailing behind her, waving to all of his friends. It was only when they sat down next to each other that they realized that they had another class together.<p>

"Oh, hey there," Niki said, slightly creeped out. "Are you following me? Or are we just in the same math class?"

"We're in the same math class," Tails answered, only half-acknowledging the joke. The class looked up and realized that their teacher, Mrs. Freya, had written a dozen math problems for them to do on their own. Everyone else worked independently, but unfortunately for Kiki, she wasn't so good at math. Twenty minutes have passed, and she is still stuck on the first problem, clueless as she wondered what to do.

"Shit, I suck at this," Kiki mumbled as she stared into her purple spiraled notebook, which was mostly filled with her random doodles.

"Do you, uh, want some help?" Tails asked the black cat, leaning over Niki to see her progress.

"That would be appreciated, thank you," Kiki answered, scratching her head. The young cat watched in amazement as Tails showed her step by step how to solve every problem.

"Hey, thanks Tails!" Kiki said gratefully. "Algebra sucks a little less now."

"Heh, no problem," the fox replied, scratching his head, when the bell rang. Lunch time!

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in a tiny orange and brown house secluded to the far back corner of Rosebud, a black and white spotted cow wearing a rainbow shirt and a purple cat wearing a blossom shirt were giggling manically as they put together a mysterious, odd-looking contraption that looked like a deformed robot.<p>

"Excellent!" the cow exclaimed as she screwed in every nut and bolt to secure them. "Once I finish building this, we'll be able to brainwash those preppy Animon kids."

"Cool beans!" the cat said, his voice muffled by him chewing on a wrench. "Wait, how does it work again?"

"Ugh, Bob, I thought I explained this to you already," the cow answered, disapproving of her minion's cluelessness. "You're going to plant this machine in the main vent of the school's ventilation system, and it will release a poison that will brainwash the students into being my army for world domination."

"Ohhhhh," Bob responded as he grasped this information. "Neat! Wait, Miss Tipper Cow Lady, why am I going through the vents to plant the machine?"

"Err, um," Tipper began, thinking. "Because I said so. Now, let's get back to work. We have much to do before we can put our plan into action."

"Yes sir!" Bob said with a quick salute, when he noticed Tipper's disdainful expression. "Uh, I mean ma'am…" Bob laughed nervously as he ran off to find more tools and machine parts to continue their work.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Niki, Sara, Kitty, and Tangy were instant-messaging each other in a public online chat room.<p>

Sweetcookie77 (Niki): so what has everyone been doing? has anyone learned any info for the…you know…that thing we're doing…?

Iownyou (Sara): I learned that the superintendent works off campus, and by that I mean off campus…weird right?

KittycatKitty (Kitty): yeah that's very suspicious

JustinBieber's_girlfriend_4life (Tangy): you know what else I find suspicious? That other new girl Marissa…

Iownyou: I don't know, maybe…but mysterious doesn't mean suspicious…

KittycatKitty: you know I've been getting strange vibes from her too…maybe we should be on to her?

Sweetcookie77: who, M-Dawg? she seemed nice to me.

KittycatKitty: M-Dawg?

Iownyou: I agree, there's something weird about her.

_Twilightheart has logged on_

Twilightheart (Marissa): you know, I can read everything you're saying. (you know, just saying)

JustinBieber's_girlfriend_4life: …awkward…

Twilightheart: yes…awkward.

Sweetcookie77: quick! everyone off the computer!

The girls quickly logged out, leaving Marissa to spam and troll that and other chat rooms on the internet.

Twilightheart: trolololol


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-

The next day, Kitty was sitting down in history class, front and center. She saw from the corner of her eye a black and red hedgehog walking in, followed by a trio of human girls that she recognized from her cooking class: Thorn, the red-headed girl who she later learned was known as Madeline Axon, and another blonde girl identified as Sabrina Axoff. The brown cat opened her green and blue striped composition notebook in preparation of the day's lecture and notes, when her ears began to twitch upon her picking up the sound of the group's conversation.

"Shadow, you're so cute!" Thorn gushed, as she took a seat behind Kitty.

"Shadow, you're hot!" Madeline exclaimed. _Poor girls…_ Kitty thought. _They're clearly oblivious to guys and how they are douches. This guy is probably the biggest douche of them all…He must be the king of-_

"Why hello there."

Kitty had apparently zoned out as she was skimming her notes, but was jolted back to reality when a deep voice sounded next to her. Her body slightly jumped in her chair, with her letting out a small _eep_, surprised by the sudden approach. Only slightly irritated by the distraction, Kitty turned her head to see who was talking to her, and forced back a shocked expression when she realized it was the hedgehog that the girls were talking to. He was sitting in the chair to her left, only he had somehow scooted over so that he was sitting right next to her.

"Uh, hi," Kitty responded softly, her body tensing up a little as she leaned away. "Can I help you?"

"Certainly," the hedgehog answered, grinning. "I couldn't help but notice you sitting here, and how cute you are."

"Um, okay," Kitty replied skeptically. "Uh, yeah. Who are you exactly…?"

"Oh, how rude of me for not introducing myself, but I figured you'd probably already know," the hedgehog said, waving a hand in the air to smooth over his black and red spiked quills. "My name is Shadow, and you are…?"

"Kitty," the cat answered, as she tried to return her attention to her notes, only for Shadow to further fix his attention on her by inching closer. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"If you were a booger, I'd pick you first," Shadow said cheekily, complete with a cheesy smile.

"Gross," Kitty retorted, rolling her eyes. "If you were a soccer ball, I'd kick you first."

"Ooh, burn," Shadow responded, pretending to cringe as if he was actually hurt. _What a tool… _Kitty commented in her mind, when the teacher, Mrs. Friga, entered the room and began rambling about the early Animal Crossers' mail system, followed by their invention of the message in a bottle system. _Thank God…_ For both a gain in knowledge and an incentive for ignoring Shadow, Kitty began scribbling in her notebook, recording every last piece of information her teacher was giving her.

* * *

><p>Later at lunch, Kitty joined her friends at their usual table, when a large group of animals of all sorts of colors approached them.<p>

"Hey guys! Coming through!" a blue hedgehog, called out as he slid his lunch tray to the opposite end of the table, before strutting over there to claim it. He was decked out in a red and blue varsity sports jacket, with his name engraved on the chest and "Animon Cross-Country" plus an image of running shoes embed on the back, a red baseball cap that was turned around backwards, black rectangular sunglasses, and red and white sneakers. "Name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog," the blue hedgehog said as he sat down, followed by the rest of his friends.

"I think you guys already know me, but I'm Miles Prower, also known as Tails," the orange fox said, taking a seat next to Sonic.

"Wait, Miles Prower?" Tangy inquired, smiling fairly widely. "You mean, as in miles per ho-"

"Yes, that," Tails answered curtly, as he searched through his _Toy Story_ themed lunchbox for his dead rabbit and tomato sandwich.

"Yeah, uh, sorry," a pink hedgehog whispered into the orange cat's ear. "He gets really annoyed when people mention that. It happens to him all the time."

"Oops, my bad," Tangy replied, before biting into her tuna sandwich. "I'm Tangy, by the way."

"Cool, name's Amy," the hedgehog girl responded with a smile. "Amy Rose. And don't worry about it, it's totally fine." Amy then dashed over to the other side of the table and tackled Sonic, nearly knocking him off his seat. "Sonikku!"

"Ack! Get off me before I call the cops!" Sonic cried out in protest.

"Oh, Sonic, you know you love me," Amy coaxed, hugging him tighter.

"No," Sonic responded, his face starting to turn blue (wait, he's already blue – purple then) from his air being cut off by the tightness of the hug. "No I don't." Barely glancing at the spectacle of the two hedgehogs, a red echidna took a seat in between Tails and Tangy.

"The name's Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna," the echidna said, jabbing at Sonic. "And it looks like you've already met my douchebag friend, Sonic."

"Hey! I am not a douchebag!" Sonic exclaimed, once Amy_ finally_ let go of him. "I'm cool!"

"Dude, look at what you're wearing!" Knuckles said, eyeing up his friend's ridiculous attire. "You look like such a tool!"

"Aw, come off it, Knuckles," a white bat responded while walking over to join the oversized group. "He's just really into the high school scene, that's all. Hey guys, I'm Rouge the Bat."

"Yeah, Knuckles," Sonic said in between bites of his chilidog. "I'm having fun with it."

"You can do it without looking ridiculous and embarrassing yourself," Knuckles said, grumbling. "And us as well sometimes." Everyone else was watching the conversation with lowered giggles as they ate their lunches. They continued chatting for the entire lunch period, until the bell rang, startling them all as they realized that they were due at their next classes for the afternoon.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-

Niki and her friends were walking through the halls after finishing their lunch, when a flash of pink caught their eyes. They stopped at the large bulletin board hung outside of the main office as they scanned it to find the pink they saw, when they came across a hot pink poster taped to the board. The poster read "Come show off your stuff!" written in silver, glittery letters at the top, and surrounding the message below were a slew of stickers, such as microphones, music notes, dancing shoes, and other symbols relating to theater. Their eyes darted from the board to each other as Niki and Kitty began to read it. Sara and Tangy leaned in closer as well, to avoid being shoved into the wall by the oncoming traffic of students hustling and bustling behind them, as if there were in the big city as opposed to an ordinary but extraordinary preparatory high school.

"You there! With the face!" Niki began, eyeing the poster. "Yeah, and the guy behind you! Do you have an awesome talent that you want to share with everyone?"

"Then come try out for the Animon High Annual Talent Show!" Kitty continued, her eyes not leaving the advertisement. "Auditions will be held on Wednesday, September 21st, and Thursday, September 22nd, from three to five PM. We hope to see you there!"

"I think you and Sara should enter the talent show!" Tangy suggested, gesturing an orange paw to Niki.

"Oh, I don't know," Sara responded, scratching her head. "What would we do?"

"Well, Niki's a good singer, and you can play the drums," Tangy answered. "Maybe you guys could form a band! You'd just need someone who can play the guitar."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Niki exclaimed, patting the citrus cat on the back. "Let's do it!"

"But where would we find someone to play the guitar for us?" Sara asked. "We don't know anyone who plays the guitar."

"Leave that to me," Niki replied, giving her friend a thumbs-up. "I'll get right on that."

"Oh, hell no," a female voice said. The girls turned around and saw Chrissy, along with her crew, who had been walking by and overhearing their conversation, standing behind them.

"Oh really?" Kitty inquired, stepping forward to get in Chrissy's face. "And why not?"

"Well, we're going to win," Chrissy replied, glowering. "We win every year."

"Yeah, it's our show, and we don't want any losers ruining it for us," Purrl piped up snootily.

"What, you're afraid to lose?" Niki questioned, crossing her arms smugly.

"Of course not," Chrissy replied with a toss of her golden locks. "We just don't want you losers to embarrass yourselves to take the attention away from us. So stay out of our show!"

"Bitch, get a life," Niki retorted, more to herself since Chrissy and her clique had walked away, when Katrina walked over, after listening in on the encounter.

"I think you guys could do it," she said encouragingly. "I might enter with my awesome piano skills, but you would be great too."

"Thanks Katrina!" Sara said graciously.

"Oh, hi guys!" a green-haired girl greeted upon arriving at the scene. "Yeah, I totally agree with Kat, you totally should enter! It's about time that someone upstaged Chrissy and her bandwagon of bitches." It was Thorn.

"Alright! It's settled," Niki said, briefly clapping her hands together. "I'll look for a guitarist during lunch, while you, Sara, make a list of possible songs we should perform."

"You got it!" Sara said, already beginning to formulate a list in her mind. The bell rang, so the girls took this as a sign to split up and head for their next class.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later, the bell rang, dismissing the students from their fourth period class. Struggling to keep her tall stack of books balanced and in her arms, Niki trudged through the hallway, searching for Room 407 to make it to her English class, when a melodious strum of the guitar stopped her in her tracks. Quickly but carefully, Niki backtracked to find the source of the sound, when she found herself stopping in front of the band room. She poked her head inside, gasping with surprise to find Marissa sitting in a blue chair, plucking at a few strings on a red, metal guitar as she hummed the tune to herself. <em>Hey, that's Go K.K. Rider! <em>Niki exclaimed to herself. _Wow, impressive!_ Before she could go further into her thoughts, the blonde girl realized that the music had stopped, and the brunette was staring at her, as if she had interrupted her private jam session.

"Uh, can I help you?" Marissa asked with raised eyebrows.

"Um, no. Well, sort of, actually. Yeah," Niki answered, nearly at a loss for words. "Say, you're really good!"

"Thanks," the other human girl responded, cracking a small smile. "I've been playing for awhile now."

"Neat! Yeah, so, I happened to catch some of the notes you were playing, so I came in here to check it out," Niki said, her nerves growing. "And I was wondering…you see, my friend and I were planning on entering the school talent show as a band, but we need a guitarist. Do you think you would want to play in our band with us?"

"Hmm…interesting," Marissa replied, starting to think. "Sounds fun. Maybe. Let me think about it."

"Awesome! Great!" Niki said, a hopeful smile on her face. "Just get back to me on it. We're having rehearsal Saturday afternoon at my house, so you can also come by with your instrument if you want." The bell sounded again, echoing everywhere in the school. "Oh, crap! I have to go, need to get to class! I'll see you later!" With that, Niki adjusted her grip on her books, exited the band room, and rushed off to class.

"Alright, see you," Marissa said as she put her guitar away in its bulky, heavy case, when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She zipped her case shut before checking her phone to read a text from Shadow.

**Don't forget about what we're doing this afternoon. Meet me in the main office at 3.**

"Ah, yes," the girl mumbled to herself. "This afternoon. That reminds me…"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8-

Later after school, at three o'clock sharp, Marissa crept into the now empty office, peering around at the purple and yellow polka-dot walls and the fuzzy yellow carpet. Oddly enough, computers were left turned on, books remained lying around on each secretary's desk and even every closet or storage space was left unlocked. Items that were lost and brought to the office sat on display in the window on the left. _So much for security… _Marissa said in her mind.

"Right on time," Shadow said from behind as he closed the door and pulled the opaque, beige shades down. "And we have the place to ourselves. Perfect."

"Obviously," Marissa responded curtly. "Now, let's get moving. Who knows how much time we have in here, so let's do this quickly. What do we need to find first?"

"You look for files on the history of the school, find out how the system works," Shadow instructed. "I'm going to hack the computer system and try to find an opening where we can complete the rest of the doctor's plans."

"Don't forget to _find the computer room_!" Marissa joked as the two began typing on the secretary's computers.

"Funny," Shadow commented, cracking a quick smile as he started guessing the school password. A few minutes of silence loomed over the two, until Marissa spoke up again.

"Okay, here we go," Marissa began, reading off her computer screen. "Animon High was founded in the summer of 2001 by a guy named Bob Billy-Bob, one of the founders of Rosebud. Initially created as a public school, Animon High had a large enrollment, but as the school advanced their technology and curriculum, it quickly became private, accepting very few students each year."

"Hmmm, interesting," Shadow mused thoughtfully. "So the kids we're dealing with must be real intelligent if the place is _this _exclusive. Still, taking control of the school won't be _that _hard, but there could be someone who might interfere. Like this one girl I know from my history class, Kitty Kingsley."

"Kitty?" Marissa questioned, remembering the brown cat from some of her own classes. "Yeah, I know her. She _does _appear somewhat suspicious. Her and that orange cat, Tangy Brighton."

"You see it too," Shadow said with a small nod. "I've been trying to uh, befriend Kitty for a little bit of time, but she won't have it. Weird, every other girl seems to like me."

"Maybe she's playing hard to get," Marissa suggested, snickering. "Or maybe she just doesn't like you."

"Impossible. I'm too awesome," Shadow retorted. "There's no way any girl could-"

"Shadow! Marissa! Report back to the base immediately!" Eggman commanded, his deep, crackling voice emanating from Shadow's communicator that posed as a watch. "I have important business to dispatch to you." Shadow and Marissa glanced at each other knowingly and nodded.

"Let's go," Shadow said, before looking down to address Eggman. "We'll be right there."

"This conversation isn't over yet," Marissa responded cheekily. Shadow rolled his eyes as he pulled out a green Chaos Emerald, while his companion pulled out a red one. Two held up their Chaos Emeralds as a bright, white light shone above them.

"Chaos Control!"

* * *

><p>"There you two are," the morbidly obese commander greeted, pushing up his dark shaded glasses as his two minions entered the room; he was able to make out their figures surprisingly well, considering that the room was only lit by the lights radiating from his computers, his random machines, and mismatched robots that cluttered the place. "I have a plan."<p>

"This should be good," Marissa muttered, a drop of sarcasm in her voice.

"The ultimate opportunity has dawned upon us," the fat man continued. "Next Friday is Animon High's annual talent show. The whole school will be there, distracted, so that will be our chance to strike!"

"How?" Shadow inquired skeptically.

"We're going to provide the band acts with special instruments that, when plugged into the speakers, will give off brainwashing sound waves!" Eggman answered proudly.

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Marissa queried. "The performers might not want to use your instruments-"

"Of course it's going to work!" Eggman snapped. "This is practically foolproof!"

"But that's what you said about the time-" when Eggman cut her off again.

"Never mind that! I have it all figured out this time! Not even that pesky blue hedgehog can stop me!"

"Uh-huh," Shadow and Marissa mumbled. "Oh yeah, sure…"

* * *

><p>"Ah, yes, the talent show!" Tipper said, reading a copy of the advertising poster from school while lounging on her gorgeous sofa. "Now is our opportunity to strike!" Lying on her back, she fully stretched out her arms and legs to find a more comfortable position.<p>

"Ooh, ooh, I wanna be in the talent show!" Bob chimed in, twirling around. "I can sing! !" The note was held for so long, and so loud that by the time his voice started to crack, every window in the house had shattered.

"My windows!" Tipper cried angrily. "Bob, you're going to pay for those!"

"Okie dokie!" Bob replied in a singsong voice.

"Anyway, here's what we're going to do," Tipper began after shaking her head. "While everyone is in the gym watching the show, you're going to tour through the rest of the school, planting our brainwashing devices into the air vents, while I'm going to sneak into the main office, the school store, the athletic office, and any other office I can find and steal all of their money. Animon won't be able to function properly if they're broke!"

"You got it, boss!" Bob responded with a salute.

"Don't do that," Tipper said critically.

"Okie dokie!" Bob replied, nodding vigorously.

"Don't do that either," Tipper added.

"Sorry."

"Now, we must get back to work," Tipper commanded. "We have much to do before next Friday."

"What's next Friday?" Bob asked, tilting his head in confusion. Tipper facepalmed.

"The talent show, you idiot."

"Oh, right, right." Bob said, bobbing his head as he nodded again. "Derp."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9-

Saturday afternoon, right after lunch, Niki and Sara were in Niki's Gracie-themed basement, tuning their instruments after plugging them into their amplifier systems.

"So, have you decided on a song for us to perform?" Niki asked her friend, who was sorting through a butterfly-themed folder filled with sheet music and corresponding lyrics.

"I think so. Almost," Sara replied absent-mindedly as she skimmed paper after paper. "I've narrowed our choices down to three songs, but now I can't decide on what we should do."

"Well, let me see," Niki responded, gently propping up her own acoustic guitar on its stand, before walking up behind her friend to read through her materials. "So it's between Girlfriend, Stereo Hearts, and The Power of Love. Okay, well how about we run through each song, see what sounds good and what doesn't, and then we'll decide."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Sara answered with a nod. "Alright, we'll do that, then." At that moment, the girls heard a faint _thump_ing sound coming down through the ceiling. "Hey, what's that?" Sara asked, slightly startled by the sudden noise. They heard it three more times, until Niki realized that someone was knocking at the door. The blonde human ran upstairs to answer it, while Sara stayed downstairs to set up the sheet music and lyrics for the first song they were doing, Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne.

"Hey! Oh my gosh, you made it!" Niki exclaimed happily upon opening the door. "I'm so glad! Please, come right in. We're in the basement, just finishing tuning our instruments and setting up."

"Cool, thanks for having me."

"Anytime, girl!" Niki replied joyously. "Come, follow me!" Niki stepped aside, allowing her guest to enter, guitar in case, held tightly in hands. The two girls turned and descended the stairs into Niki's basement, where Sara was sitting in a tiny red stool in front of her pink, metallic drum set, drumsticks in hand and ready to go.

"Hey Sara, Marissa's here," Niki said, as she picked up her guitar, while Marissa extracted hers from its case and began to tune it.

"Oh, cool!" Sara replied, smiling at Marissa. "Glad to have you, Marissa."

"Thanks," Marissa responded, nodding at Sara once she finished tuning her guitar and placed the strap around her neck. "Happy to be here."

"Alright, are we all ready?" Niki asked, looking around the room and seeing the other two girls nod at her. "Awesome! Let's rock!" With their eyes closely darting between their sheet music, lyrics, and instruments, the girls started playing.

"Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend!" Niki belted out. "Hey, hey, you, you I think you need a new one! Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend!" Sara and Marissa jammed on their instruments behind Niki, as they continued rocking out to the song, up until the very last note and lyric.

"Wow, Marissa, you're really good!" Sara commented, stretching out her arms and fingers. "Okay, so what did you guys think? I thought it was good, but if we pick this song, then we'd have to practice it _a lot_."

"Yeah, you're right," Niki replied. "Not only is it a tough song, but everyone knows Avril Lavigne and loves her and this song, so it has to be perfect, or else they'll throw rotten tomatoes at us."

"Oh, I don't think they'll go to _that_ extreme," Marissa said. "What's the next song?"

"Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Heroes," Niki answered. "Let's do that one." Everyone nodded and prepared themselves, hands lingering over their instruments.

"1! 2! 3! 4!"

* * *

><p>Later that night, Tangy was in her citrus themed bedroom, lying on her stomach on her pineapple bed, shoveling Cheerios into her mouth while watching the <em>Animal X Factor <em>results show. Her cell phone rang, letting out a loud, obnoxious jingle that startled Tangy and nearly caused her to spill her cereal. Tangy breathed a sigh of relief as she placed her bowl on the watermelon chair in front of her before picking up her phone.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN BUYING WHATEVER USELESS SHIT YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL ME, SO QUIT CALLING ME!"

"Tangy?"

"Oh, hey Kitty!"

"Listen, I found out something crazy! You will _not _believe this!"

"Oh really? What is it?"

"I was walking through Rosebud, and when I was walking past Tipper's house, I could see and hear in her window that she and Bob were going through this plan of theirs to brainwash the students at Animon!"

"Oh my God!" Tangy exclaimed, her jaw dropping to the floor.

"I know!" Kitty bellowed from the other end.

"Serena was eliminated!" Tangy cried, her eyes pressed to her robo TV, the only non-citrus furniture piece in her room.

"What the hell?" Kitty asked, frowning in her voice. "Tangy, are you listening?"

"Yeah, of course I was!" Tangy answered absent-mindedly.

"What did I say then?" Kitty inquired sternly.

"Oh, just something about uh, some brainwashing plans of Tipper and Bob's." Tangy replied, focusing more of her attention on Kitty now that her program had gone to commercial.

"Yeah! Tipper's sending Bob into the school to activate some kind of brainwashing device!" Kitty yelled into the phone.

"Oh my God!"

"Who got eliminated this time?"

"Oh, nobody. The show's on a commercial break, so that one was legit."

"Right…"

"But I can't believe Tipper and Bob are plotting something big like that!" Tangy said, before directing her attention back to her TV. "Oh, show's back on. Gotta go Kit!"

* * *

><p>Then Kitty phoned Kiki, Sara, and Niki, putting them all on a four-way call.<p>

"No way!" Kiki exclaimed when she heard the news.

"I can't believe it!" Sara shrieked, her voice rising to a high-pitched squeak.

"That's what Tangy said!" Kitty said to them all.

"Do you know when they're going to carry out this plan?" Niki asked, the concern clear in her voice.

"Nope," Kitty answered, her voice wavering with uncertainty. "I hadn't planned on spying, and besides, I couldn't stay long anyway. God forbid they caught me outside her house. But it could be happening any day, any time!"

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to be ready for it," Niki responded. The conversation fell silent on all four ends.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-

The next day, Thorn, Katrina, Madeline, and Rouge met up in the cafeteria for lunch, snagging a table by the large window towards the back of the lunchroom.

"Ugh, I hate these uniforms," Rouge whined as she started poking at her Caesar salad with her fork. "I got sent to the Dean's office for showing too much cleavage."

"We can see why," Madeline said, trying not to laugh as she opened her brown paper bag and started digging through it.

"Katrina, are you entering the talent show?" Thorn asked.

"No, I'll just watch," Katrina replied, before turning towards the red-haired girl sitting next to her. "How about you, Madeline?"

"I'm hosting the talent show, actually," Madeline answered proudly, smiling as she beamed. "So you know I'll be there."

"Wow, that's awesome, Madeline!" Thorn exclaimed, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Hosting the talent show is a sweet gig!"

"Thanks, I know!" Madeline responded after biting into her ham and cheese sandwich. "It's going to be great!"

* * *

><p>"The talent show is this Friday!" Tipper exclaimed happily, clapping her hooves with glee. "This is going to be when we take over Animon High!"<p>

"Wheeeeeeeee! Super Bob!" Bob called out as he flew around the "secret base", swinging on a jump-rope tied to the ceiling fan in his silky red cape and black mask, when he slammed into the wall behind his cow accomplice. "Ow!"

"Quit messing around Bob!" Tipper yelled. "We've got work to do! We need to make sure that those powder puffs don't stop us, and figure out how to catch them if we need to!"

"But it's easy, Tipper," Bob said. "You just go to Dunkin' Donuts and-"

"Not _those_ powder puffs, you imbecile!" Tipper snapped, when her mouth started to water. "But I am in the mood for some! Let's go!" So Tipper and Bob ran to Dunkin' Donuts, located behind Nook's shop, and stole a dozen powdered donuts from the back of the shop. When they got back, they hungrily shoved the donuts into their mouths like savages, before turning on the TV to watch an old rerun of _General Hospital_.

* * *

><p>Later after school, Niki, Sara, and Marissa met up at Niki's house for another rehearsal, as the big night continued to loom over their heads. After finally agreeing on a song and running through it a few times, Niki and Sara ran upstairs to Niki's bedroom.<p>

"Be right back, Marissa!" Niki called behind her, before disappearing to the ground floor. Marissa didn't have to wait long, before the two girls returned, bursting in holding flashy pink t-shirts, dark denim skirts, and black, leather boots that equaled the size of a short pair of Uggs.

"Marissa!" Sara exclaimed, handing the brunette an outfit in her size. "Check out these awesome costumes Niki and I picked out. They're totally awesome, right?"

"Uh, yeah, awesome," Marissa replied, her eyes widening as she stared at the costume in horror. "You don't think these are too girly, do you?"

"Too girly? No way!" Niki answered, grinning. "They're perfect! They're going to look great on us!"

"Whatever you say," Marissa responded, her face turning from one of horror to one of amusement, trying not to laugh as she folded up her new clothes and placed them next to her guitar case.

"Okay, girls, let's run through it one more time, and then we'll call it a day," Niki said, grabbing her guitar and her microphone. "Then maybe we can grab some pizza and see a movie."

"Sounds good to me!" Sara replied, sitting down before her drums and picking up her drumsticks. "1! 2! 3! 4!" Then they started playing.

* * *

><p>Kitty sat alone at The Roost, sipping a cup of Brewster's famous Pigeon Blend while flipping through her history textbook and notebook. Brewster was playing and humming along to K.K. Slider's song, "Only Me", the music echoing throughout the tiny café as he washed a small load of dishes.<p>

"Is this seat taken?"

Kitty glanced up from her studying, and standing across the table was Shadow the Hedgehog. He grinned at her as he took a seat next to her and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was reading.

"Oh, hey Shadow," Kitty said, glancing up at the hedgehog briefly. She looked back down at her notes in case she blushed to avoid Shadow seeing her cheeks turn red.

"History, eh?" Shadow asked, scanning Kitty's notes.

"Yeah, we have a history test tomorrow, you know," Kitty answered, smiling as a short giggle escaped her lips.

"Oh, right," Shadow said, chuckling. "I would study, but you know, I'm too cool for school."

"Oh, really?" Kitty questioned, raising eyebrows at him. "You think you're too cool?"

"You know it," Shadow replied, flexing one of his arms as he struck a typical, cool guy pose. Kitty laughed, almost spitting out the coffee she had taken a sip of, giving Shadow hysterics. When their laughter subsided, they gazed at each other in an awkward but not silence.

"So…do you want to hang out tonight?" the Ultimate Life Form asked after a minute of their quiet.

"Really?" Kitty asked, taken aback by this question. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"I'll show you," Shadow answered, winking at her as he closed her books. "Come on, let's go."

"Uh, sure," Kitty responded, hurriedly collecting her books before following Shadow out of the café.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey readers, I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I took November off to do NaNoWriMo, and then I lost the outline for the story from the old version of it. I'm back now, but updates might slow down for awhile while I'm trying to get the outline back. Thanks for being patient, and enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 11-

Niki, Sara, and Marissa were seated together at a tiny round table in the corner of Pizza Shack, Rosebud's local pizza place, which was an old, shabby brown shack that used to be Nook's Cranny. Nook's two nephews, Timmy and Tommy, had recently taken up pizza making, and since the family business had already been remodeled into Nookington's, their uncle was surprisingly kind enough to set up his old store as a pizza shop for the boys to use to create their own little business. The shack had metal round tables and stools scattered throughout the restaurant, as well as a long, narrow counter, half it taken up by the cash register and the other half used as more places for people to eat. The human girls had just been served a medium-sized pepperoni pizza, and they begun to chow down, the soles of their feet digging into the shanty flooring, while plaster covered the walls.

"I heard there are a lot of people in the talent show this year," Sara said between bites of her slice. "Between Chrissy and her crew, another girl band, and some diva singer, there's a lot of competition."

"Don't worry, we got this!" Niki exclaimed boastfully as she bit into her pizza. "And besides, even if we don't win, it'll still be fun, right? The way I see it, it would only suck if Chrissy and her friends won and rubbed it in our faces for the rest of the year."

"That you are right about," Sara responded, nodding as she took a quick sip of iced tea. "But winning might not be so easy. We'd have to really "wow" the judges."

"That's not so hard," Marissa chimed in, finally speaking up. "All you really have to do is hit all the right notes, smile at the judges, and connect with the audience. If you can do all of that, then there's nothing to it."

"I've never thought of it as that easy," Sara said, glancing over at Marissa while absorbing the thought. "But now that I think about it, I suppose that's true." Marissa shrugged and finished devouring her crust, before grabbing her second slice. Niki and Sara followed suit, while Sara glanced out the window. Her eyes widened with intrigue when she saw a familiar figure walking through town with an unfamiliar figure.

"Hey, isn't that Kitty?" Sara asked, putting down her pizza and staring through the smudged, slightly tinted glass. At the sound of her friend's name, Niki immediately whirled around in her silver, metal swivel stool to take a look, the end of her crust loosely hanging out of her mouth. Marissa too followed Sara's gaze, and saw a vague-looking cat and an all-too familiar hedgehog. _Shadow!_ Marissa's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and her face blanked in clear surprise.

"Oh my God, it is Kitty!" Niki replied, her mouth slightly dropping open. "But who's that hedgehog she's with?"

"I think that guy's in my gym class," Sara answered with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "I wonder what he's doing with her."

"Me too," Niki agreed, hastily gulping down the last of her water. "She didn't tell us she was hanging out with anyone new. Weird…" Marissa's mind became overflowed with thoughts, mostly of astonishment and skepticism, as she couldn't believe what she was seeing. _Shadow! What are you doing? And you told ME that I need to focus on the mission? What's going on? _Luckily though, she managed to wipe off her shocked expression right before her companions turned back around, oblivious to the fact that Marissa was practically reeling.

"Eh, whatever," Sara said, gently nudging her plate towards the center of the table. "We'll just ask her about it later. So, who wants to go see a movie?"

"I do!" Niki quickly replied, leaping out of her seat. "I was thinking we go see either _Cary's Tragic Life _or _Mary-Sue's Diary_."

"Ooh, _Mary-Sue's Diary_ for sure," Sara mused while Marissa picked up the money everyone laid on the table and paid Tommy for their dinner. "I've been dying to see that. What do you think, Marissa?"

"Eh, whatever you guys want, I'm down for," Marissa answered nonchalantly, as the girls headed out of the shack.

"Alright, _Mary-Sue's Diary_ it is!" Niki said decidedly. "Let's go!" The girls spent the next ten minutes walking through the northern half of Rosebud, before hopping on a bus to the city to get to the Marquee.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Shadow and Kitty were entering the Marquee, walking along the fuzzy red carpet when Shadow handed two movie tickets over to one of the ticket takers that appeared to be shrouded by the booth they were sitting at, while Kitty approached the animal behind the other counter to buy a bucket of popcorn.<p>

"Thank you, enjoy the movie," the mysterious ticket taker said to them, returning two ticket stubs to the hedgehog. Shadow silently nodded and led Kitty into the first theater on the left.

"You're taking me to see _Sailor Moon: The Movie_?" Kitty gasped, peeking at the flimsy little ticket stubs in Shadow's hand. "I love Sailor Moon! How did you know?" Shadow paused as he glanced down at Kitty's shirt, a white t-shirt with Sailor Moon on it, waving and striking a saluting pose; a pattern that Kitty made during the sewing unit of home economics.

"I…had a feeling," Shadow answered with a cheeky grin. "You know, a cool guy's intuition."

"Cool guy's intuition? Really?" Kitty asked sarcastically, and the two laughed as they took their seats in the center row of the theater. "That sure is interesting." Once the pair was settled into their thick-cushions chairs, the lights went out, and the previews quickly rolled by, before the movie started. Throughout the film, Shadow and Kitty poked each other's hands when they met in the popcorn bucket, flicked kernels of popcorn at each other, and cheer on the title character as she fights and defeats an energy-sucking monster, the latter being mostly Kitty while Shadow stifled a chuckle. The movie ends an hour later, and the duo are exiting the theater, when Kitty stops and gapes in shock when she sees Niki, Sara, and Marissa walking into a theater on the right. Shadow seemed to have noticed them as well, for he quickened his leisured pace to allow the two to slip out of the Marquee unnoticed.

* * *

><p>"Right on time," Shadow said, a little more to himself as they stepped off the bus, returning to Rosebud.<p>

"Right on time for what?" Kitty asked, tilting her head. "What are we doing?"

"The sun's about to set," Shadow told Kitty, pointing to the horizon, the sun's outer rays of red and orange washing over the sky's blue hue. "It's a lot nicer to watch on the beach. You'll see." Shadow took Kitty's hand, before dashing off at supersonic speed. Afraid to fall and be left behind, Kitty grasped tightly onto Shadow's hand and looked down as she watched her feet running alongside Shadow, realizing that she was able to keep up with him despite the speed. She blinked a few times, and they arrived at the beach, right as the sun was slowly starting to descend. The sky above had turned a light orange, while the atmosphere backing the sun below became a mixture of orange, yellow, pink, purple, and a hint of red.

"Oh, wow," Kitty mused, breathlessly, her eyes glued dreamily to the sunset. "It's beautiful…" The ocean glistened in the sun's radiance, as the smallest waves rippled onto the shore while the sun went down, disappearing behind the horizon. After the sun was gone for the day, the sky retained its orange shade for a few minutes, before starting to turn black for the night. "That was amazing," Kitty gushed, leaning her head back to look up at the sky. "The beach made it even prettier."

"I know," Shadow said with a short sigh. "It's even nicer watching it with someone else, so I thought that you would like to see it."

"Aw, thank you," Kitty responded shyly, smiling to herself, heat rising to her cheeks. "I did like it." Shadow and Kitty faced each other and locked eyes, both remaining still for what could have been all night. Shadow readied himself to say something, but he paused when he heard a faint beeping noise, the sound that his communicator makes when he's about to receive a message.

"Shadow? What are you doing?" Eggman's voice hissed from the communicator. "Get back here this instant! I need to discuss some information and details with you before Friday!" Shadow quickly pressed his hand against the miniscule speaker to muffle Eggman's voice, hoping Kitty wouldn't notice. Fortunately, Kitty seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, an absent-minded expression crossing her face as she looked around her.

"Hey, um, Kitty," Shadow said, and she whirled her head around, her attention hastily returning to him. "I'm afraid I have to get going now, but I had a nice time with you."

"Oh! Um," Kitty replied, brushing off her thoughts for now. "Alright, that's fine. I should probably be getting home anyway. I had fun hanging out with you though, thanks."

"No problem," Shadow responded, as they began walking off the beach. "Come on, I'll take you home if you want." Kitty smiled and nodded, as she led Shadow a few yards above the beach to a green one-story abode with a purple roof that she called home. The brown cat started for the green wooden door, before stopping to glance back at Shadow.

"Goodbye Shadow," she said, rather softly. "Thanks again."

"Goodbye, Kitty," the hedgehog replied, turning to go. "'I'll see you soon." Kitty unlocked the door and disappeared inside her house, and Shadow dashed off into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12-

The students at Animon High get through the school week with a typical lack of events, until Friday, the day of the talent show, comes. The halls are buzzing with gossip as to what acts are performing, what they're performing, and whatnot. When the bell rings, students noisily file out of the school in large packs. Meanwhile, Niki and Sara are rushing back to Niki's house, moving rapidly in hopes of getting ready in two hours, before they have to be back at school for the show. Once they arrive back at Niki's red-roofed, two-story home, the two girls rush into Niki's bathroom, located in the back right corner of Niki's living room, Niki beginning to straighten her hair, and Sara applying makeup. After about thirty minutes, they switch, and after they're done, they split up across the robo-themed living room to get dressed into their costumes that they picked out at an earlier rehearsal.

"We're making good time," Niki commented, glancing at her apple clock. "Awesome. We have just enough time to tune our instruments before Katrina picks us up, and she'll be here in approximately ten minutes."

"I'm going to tune my instrument when we get there," Sara responded, her drum set turning into a tiny green leaf before disappearing inside her pockets. "What about Marissa?"

"She's meeting us there," Niki answered, picking up her guitar and adjusting the silver knobs on the end of it to tune it. "She should get there when we do." Sara glanced out the window just in time to see Katrina pull up in front of the house in her shiny orange sports car.

"She's here," Sara said, grabbing an extra pair of drumsticks before opening the door. "Come on Niki, we have to go."

"Got it!" Niki replied, packing her guitar into its case before following Sara out the door. Katrina gave a friendly wave to the girls while tossing her blonde hair behind her, as they clambered into the car, Niki riding shotgun, and Sara in the back.

"Thanks for picking us up, Katrina," Sara greeted as she put her seatbelt on. Niki also quickly said "thanks", while playing around with the radio. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, girls," Katrina replied, smiling warmly as she peered between each girl. "Ready to go?"

"Yes we are!" Niki answered, finally picking a station and sitting back in her seat. "Let's roll!" With that, Katrina drove off, coasting over a bridge and turning past several houses, before arriving back at Animon.

* * *

><p>After putting on the costume Niki gave her and pulling her hair back into a messy ponytail, Marissa is seated on an old cream sofa, tuning her guitar, strumming a few chords in the song her band is performing tonight. She hits the notes perfectly, but she continues to play them over and over to memorize and perfect them before she performs for a crowd. She is so focused on locking the notes into her mind that she finds herself zoning out, almost ignoring Shadow when he sits down next to her to watch.<p>

"So you're really going to be in this talent show tonight?" Shadow inquired, raising an intrigued eyebrow. "I didn't know you were into playing music."

"Oh! Um," Marissa mumbled, snapping out of her focus and hurriedly stuffing her guitar into her thick, leather case. "Yes. I've always enjoyed playing music. It's like… an outlet for me. Music is…music is my escape."

"Escape from what?" Shadow asked, his intrigue mixing with suspicion.

"Oh, you know," Marissa answered, starting to zone out again. "The mission…school…my life…the world…"

"I see," Shadow responded, almost appearing to be thinking, until he jokingly smirked. "But what about that flashy outfit you're wearing?" Marissa looked down at herself and cracked a smile, before laughing curtly.

"I didn't pick this out. The two girls performing with me did," she answered, pausing before getting up. "I have to go, I'm running late, but I'll see you at the show." Shadow didn't bother to respond, for Marissa briskly picked up her guitar case and dashed out of Eggman's base.

* * *

><p>Backstage, various performers were warming up while Mrs. Friga, the moderator and director of the talent show, was taking attendance. Niki was reading over the lyrics to their song, while Sara finished tuning her instrument, when Marissa darted through the curtains, her guitar case nearly whacking another student on the head.<p>

"There you are, M-Dawg!" Niki exclaimed, looking up at Marissa. "We've been waiting for you! Come on, we have to set up our instruments. We go on right after intermission!"

"Alright, let's go then," Marissa replied, glancing back at Niki. "Wait a minute. Didn't I tell you not to call me M-Dawg?"

"Uh…no…?" Niki answered cheekily with shifty eyes and a goofy smile. Marissa rolled her eyes and muttered a "whatever", before the sound crew helped them set up their instruments towards the back of the stage, allowing more room for the dancers and another band that was performing.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the lights in the auditorium dimmed, and a spotlight shone on Madeline after she was introduced.<p>

"Hello to everyone! And welcome to Animon High's 5th Annual Talent Show!" Madeline exclaimed, the microphone echoing her voice off the walls of the cinematic room. "We've got a great show for you tonight, with all of the most talented and creative students Animon has to offer! First up tonight we have Chrissy Kingsley, Mitzi Windsor, Olivia Mason, Rosie Carlisle, and Purrl Furris, also known as Chrissy's Crew!"

"Chrissy's Crew? Haha, how lame," Niki commented, barely able to control her snickering. "Well, good luck to everyone! May the best act win!"

"I will," Chrissy mocked, harshly nudging Niki aside. "And shut up! Chrissy's Crew is legendary! You're just jealous of our impending victory."

"L-Legendary? Haha!" Niki exclaimed, bending over as she laughed harder. "Yeah, okay, Chrissy. We'll see how you measure up to us!" Chrissy and the Bratz Catz shot Niki, Sara, and Marissa snide glares, before they haughtily strutted onto the stage.

"Okay…uh, is everyone's instruments tuned?" Sara asked, to which Niki and Marissa nodded. "Okay, good." From behind the curtain, the girls heard the show progress, one routine after another, until it was time for intermission. The lights came back on, and the girls quietly checked their instruments one more time, while the audience chatted among themselves and headed for the concession stand. The girls decided that they were all set to go, when the lights went out again, and they heard Madeline's voice booming through the speakers that hung from the ceiling.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our first band of the night," Madeline announced with a big smile. "Please welcome Niki Harley, Sara Asyter, and Marissa Tomoe, also known as NSM!" The crowd applauded moderately enthusiastically as Niki, Sara, and Marissa made their way to their instruments and got in place. The applause continued as red velvet curtains rose, revealing the band cast in shadow, as Sara began tapping her drumsticks together.

"1! 2! 3! 4!" the drummer called out, when the stage lights shone on them, and they began to play.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13-

Some people in the crowd began to cheer when the recognized The Power of Love, a popular song from the anime _Sailor Moon_, as the song that Niki and her band was performing. The keyboard melody in the beginning of the song was replaced by an electric guitar version of it by Marissa, while Sara played similar notes on the drums, when Niki started to sing.

"There comes a time," Niki sang, drawing in more cheers. "When you face…the toughest of fights…"

* * *

><p>Bob could hear Niki belting out a song that he heard from some anime as he climbed into the air vents and began crawling through them, placing one of Tipper's brainwashing devices, a tiny red orb that shot out a hypnosis beam, next to each of the air vents' openings. He scuttled through winding roads of air vents all over the school, traveling in circles until he found himself looking into the auditorium, where Niki, Sara, and another girl that he didn't recognize were wowing the crowd with Niki's vocals, Sara's drumbeats, and Niki's and the unfamiliar girl's guitar riffs. Bob paused to watch the girls onstage, bobbing his head to the beat as they hit the chorus.<p>

"You've got to belie-eve…in the power of love!"

Bob began moving his arms in an awkward, constricted dance as he really got into the song, when Tipper's voice sounding from his tiny black walkie-talkie stopped him in his pleasure.

"Bob! What are you doing? Did you finish planting the brainwashing orbs?" Tipper demanded through the communicating device. "Get back here when you're done!"

"Yes cow lady!" Bob responded, turning around and crawling back through the air vents, ignoring Tipper's dismal sigh as he exited the ventilation system, sneaking into the auditorium and behind the curtain, heading to the a closet filled with various costumes, where Tipper was currently hiding.

"Good work Bob!" Tipper exclaimed, gently slapping Bob on the back as she pressed a button on the thin, gray remote control in her hand. "Now…we wait."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Eggman was watching the talent show on a giant television screen in his secret base, cackling evilly to himself, while Shadow stood by silently, clutching a bright, jade green Chaos Emerald in his hand.<p>

"Shadow! Give me the Chaos Emerald!" Eggman commanded. "I need it to charge the brainwashing devices in the speakers and set them off." Shadow handed Eggman the gem, and the overweight doctor in turn inserted it, as if it were a normal battery, into an oversized remote control, complete with random buttons and a microscopic microphone. With the controlling device completely assembled, Eggman presses two buttons, one green, one blue, at once. "I have to say, those girls are really drawing in our minions," Eggman commented. "They're really absorbing the music, so they won't break free from our control easily. Lucky for us- wait, is that Marissa?"

* * *

><p>As the song reached its climax, the audience was going wild as Marissa played a long string of chords and riffs for her guitar solo. Niki and Sara listened closely, so they knew when to pick up again and continue.<p>

"You've got to belie-eve…in the power of love!" Niki sang, clapping her hands upon the crowd doing so as well. "You've got to belie-eve…in the power of love!"

"It gives meaning to each moment; it's what our hearts are all made of!" Marissa chimed in for backup. "You've got to belie-eve…in the power of love!" While Niki and Marissa belted out the last lines of the song lyrics, the speakers, starting with the heavy amps in the back, began giving off unusual sound waves, rays of a faint white with a light purple tint. The sound waves were soon emerging from all of the speakers in the room and looming over the unsuspecting crowd, which consisted of students, teachers, and other adults alike. The audience cheered as Niki, Sara, and Marissa each took a bow, but when they looked back up, everyone was sitting still, emotionless, almost like living zombies. Marissa was unfazed by it, while Niki and Sara gave strange looks to the crowd, confused.

"Hey, did you notice something weird about the people in the audience?" Sara asked Niki once they left the stage. "What's wrong with them?"

"Who knows," Niki answered with a shrug. "Maybe they're just tired or-"

"You are now under my control, so you will obey me," a deep, gruff voice boomed, echoing off the walls of the room. "Now you will all help me to build the Eggman Empire!" On those last words, everyone stood up, their eyes glowing ominously dark, and they began marching throughout the room, some even out into the halls. Their outlandish and creepy behavior turned destructive when they began trashing the auditorium and anywhere else they went, flipping chairs over, pulling the curtain down, and even punching holes in the rather thin walls.

"All hail Eggman," random members of the audience droned. "Build the Eggman Empire." The newly brainwashed victims continued mumbling the name "Eggman" as they practically trashed the school, when suddenly a radiant, red beam shot through the air vent and engulfed Eggman's new minions. Niki, Sara, and Marissa lurked behind the curtain, which was now crumpled up on the stage, while other performers ran off to try and escape the madness, as the drones' eyes flashed a blank white with a red tint in the corners. Momentarily they stood motionless, as a loud, obnoxious, female voice rang into everyone's ears.

"You people! I am your new commander, and therefore you are going to follow all of my orders, for the destruction of Animon High, and the establishment of my rule!" Niki and Sara immediately recognized this voice as Tipper's, while Marissa's uncaring expression turned to one of bewilderment. Eggman's plan was going off without a hitch, as far as she was aware of, who was this person interfering with the doctor's blueprints for domination?

"It's Tipper! We have to stop her!" Niki exclaimed, nudging Sara. "Come on! We have to find her and whatever she's using to mind control everyone!"

"All hail Tipper," the now mindless pawns moaned dismally. "Destroy Animon High." And so they continued their damaging antics, now with more violence, as they began tearing walls down, smashing windows, and chasing other students. Hesitation aside, Niki and Sara run off to look for Tipper, leaving Marissa to watch more of the craziness ensue, her mind processing what she was seeing as she tried to find a missing link as to how this odd but major interference was occurring.

"…What the hell?" she asked herself, staring in awe and surprise.

"The doctor is asking himself the same thing," Shadow said from behind, manifesting behind her after performing Chaos Control. "Speaking of which, he needs us to regain control over our supposed minions."

"…Right…" Marissa absent-mindedly responded, too distracted by the chaotic sight. "We should…probably get on that…"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14-

"All hail Eggman!"

"All hail Tipper!"

"All hail Eggman!"

"All hail Tipper!"

It was as if Dr. Eggman and Tipper were playing ping pong with each other for control over their brainwashing victims. Each world domination hopeful's brainwashing devices would take turns overpowering those of the other one and gaining mind control over the people, much to both of their frustration and confusion. The victims were going around trashing the school as Tipper ordered, until they turned around and began breaking into the main office and the dean's office, as commanded by Eggman. The supposed "loyalty" of these minions was literally switching back and forth between Eggman and Tipper, for they only had control over them for five minute intervals before they fell under the control of the other villain.

"What the hell is going on?" Eggman yelled at his television screen back at his base. "They're supposed to be following _my _orders!"

"What? This is ridiculous!" Tipper exclaimed, her and Bob poking their heads out of the closet to watch her (for now) minions at work. "I can't take over the world if my own minions won't obey me!"

"I'm going to be the supreme ruler!" Tipper and Eggman said simultaneously. "I must take more action to keep my authority!" With that, Eggman, stood up and climbed into one of his many hovercrafts, ascending to the ceiling as a hole opened up as an exit. Eggman leaves the base to head to Animon High, while Tipper and Bob left their hiding place.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Niki and Sara were dashing through one hallway after another, in hopes of finding their arch nemeses. They searched both offices that were broken into, and then they turned a corner and checked different classrooms and teachers' lounges.<p>

"Where's Tipper?" Sara asked, starting to pant after running through half the school. "And how did she manage to brainwash an entire audience?"

"We're about to find out," Niki replied, turning to Sara after looking into the school store. "Either way, we're going to stop her." With that, they kept running and turned another corner, when Sara spotted a bulky, shadowed figure dart down the stairs into the basement.

"Hey, what was that over there?" the dark-haired girl asked, pointing to the figure just before it vanished from sight.

"I bet it was Tipper! Let's go!" Niki replied, turning around to chase after the figure, with Sara following close behind.

* * *

><p>Kitty maneuvered through the crowds of brainwashed victims in the auditorium, trying to find the source of the manipulating sound waves, or at least, the person controlling them. The brown cat inspected the people's various new mannerisms and actions under whoever's control as she ran towards one of the large speakers behind the auditorium chairs. She was going to examine the speakers to see if there was anything inside of them that gave off the mysterious sound waves, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. As she drew nearer, she saw a black and red hedgehog, who appeared to be messing with the wires of one of the speakers.<p>

"Is that…is that Shadow?" Kitty questioned with a gasp, unable to contain her shock. She peered closer at the hedgehog to confirm that it was indeed Shadow, who was now planting a bunch of tiny green microchips into the speaker, cueing it to give off more sound waves. "Huh? What is he doing?" Kitty wondered, as control over the people shifted back to Eggman. She took another step forward to ask him, when he dashed off in a black blur, not even noticing her presence. "Huh? What's going on with him?" Kitty asked herself, before sighing and running out of the auditorium, when she saw Niki and Sara running up the stairs. Shadow was long gone at this point, so Kitty decided to follow her friends.

"Kitty! There you are!" Niki exclaimed once her feline friend caught up to them. "We're just about to catch Tipper and get to the bottom of this baloney!" Kitty gave a short nod as they reached the top of the stairs and found up cornering the shadowed figure, who had hit a dead end at the end of another hallway. All of the classrooms were locked, and there were no other staircases, so they had nowhere else to go. The girls stepped closer, ready to confront their nemesis, when Sara suddenly paused.

"Wait, guys," Sara said, staring at the figure skeptically. "I…don't think that's Tipper."

"What do you mean?" Niki asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "Who else could it be?" The figure whipped around upon hearing the girls' voices, and Sara's suspicions were confirmed. They had been chasing a tall, overweight man with a long, frizzy mustache, who was wearing black goggles, and a red suit with black pants. He angrily scowled at the girls, annoyed that they had followed him through the school, and the girls gasped in shock.

"Oh my God, it's him!" Kitty exclaimed, her finger shaking as she pointed at him.

"Unbelievable!" Sara cried.

"Holy crap!" Niki mused. "I was _not_ expecting that." There was a brief awkward silence, before Kitty continued.

"Okay, so, does anyone actually _know_ this guy?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah, uh, no," Sara answered.

"Nope! Never met him!" Niki replied. Just then they heard footsteps pounding behind them, and the girls whirled around to see Tipper and Bob running up the stairs, with a group of their minions trailing behind, half-walking, half-marching in unison.

"You'll never stop me, Niki! Never!" Tipper called out as she advanced on the girls, pointing what appears to be a stun gun at them. "I already have control over everyone, and soon this place will be mine!"

"What? Impossible!" the man behind them spoke up. "They're following my orders! I'm going to take this place over!" Tipper noticed the man standing there and turned to address them, outraged.

"What? So you were the one interfering with my brainwashing devices?" Tipper yelled at him. "Do you even realize how annoying that was for me?"

"I believe that it was _you _who was interfering with _my _plans!" the man snapped. "You caused a lot of problems with my own brainwashing mechanisms!" Tipper and Eggman continue arguing for what feels like an hour, while Niki, Sara, Kitty, and Bob stare and watch, confused and unsure of what to do.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15-

The three girls (plus Bob) stood there in bewilderment as they watched Tipper argue with who they had finally identified as Dr. Eggman. They had been ranting at each other back and forth for half an hour now, but they weren't planning on stopping anytime soon. The tension of the situation was replaced by awkwardness, to the point where the two villains didn't even notice when a spiky blue blur crashed through a nearby window, followed by a flying yellow blur and a less spiky red blur. The doctor is startled when the blue blur crashes into him, knocking him to the ground. Eggman shakes his head to clear away the dizzy stars from his head, when he notices Tails and Knuckles hovering over him on either side of Sonic.

"So, Eggman, it was you this whole time," Sonic sneered, smirking down at his own nemesis. "Not like you're going to get away with it or anything." Eggman glared at Sonic from the floor, when he looked past the others and saw his minions marching towards them, giving him a smirk of his own.

"Oh, but I think I will Sonic," Eggman scoffed, rising to his feet and gesturing to the minions. "I have control of nearly everyone in the school! You'll never be able to stop me. Minions! Get this hedgehog!"

"All hail Tipper…" the mindless people droned robotically.

"Damn it," Eggman muttered, slightly imitating Shadow. "I could've sworn I had Shadow fix my mechanisms."

"Ha! Sucker!" Tipper said, pointing at Eggman and laughing haughtily, only to find herself surrounded by Niki, Sara, and Kitty, while Bob ran around like a crazy person. Without further hesitation, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles began throwing punches, kicks, spin dashes, and any other attacks they could perform. Eggman shrieked and started prancing around the room to try and dodge their attacks, alternating between being hit and missed.

"Sara! Go catch Bob!" Niki commanded, before pouncing on Tipper and forming a grayish, stormy fight cloud. Sara nodded and ran towards Bob, who turned and ran towards Tipper, only for him to be tackled by Sara.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with me, Niki?" Tipper questioned, rolling over to avoid having her face stepped on by the blonde girl.

"Stop you and your evil plans, of course. Oh, and maybe have you arrested," Niki answered, grinning cheekily at the cow, before looking up at Kitty. "Kitty! Do you think you can turn off both of their devices? Then maybe everyone will go back to normal."

"I'll get right on that!" Kitty replied, turning and running down the hall. The brown feline ran back down the staircase and through two hallways, before reentering the now empty auditorium. She approached each speaker and rummaged through them, until she extracted large, green and black shiny orbs that gave off faint purple fumes. After removing one from each speaker throughout the auditorium, she had an entire collection of a dozen orbs cradled in her arms, when she suddenly dropped one while she was on her way out of the room. She jumped in surprise, nearly dropping all the others, as she looked down and watched the fallen orb shatter into dozens of microscopic shards, revealing tangled up wires of blue and yellow and an image of the mustached man's face etched into the inside of the broken pieces. Kitty stared at the broken device for a few more seconds, before glancing at the remaining orbs, until she decided to break each orb open, smacking them onto a metal chair before tossing them into a nearby trash can. Once she was done, she turned to dispose of the broken glass on the floor, when she felt a part of her vibrate. Familiar with that feeling, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her iPhone, when a text from Niki popped up on the now illuminating screen.

**Were you able to turn the devices off? Everyone is still acting wacko.**

Kitty was confused. She had turned them off, so shouldn't everyone return to normal? She pondered this briefly, when she remembered. She had to stop the mechanisms planted by _two_ baddies, as opposed to one, and only one plot was foiled. She had to figure out where the other enemy, the one she and her friends were expecting, had their mind controlling system was hidden. Still thinking, Kitty absent-mindedly sent a reply message to Niki.

**I was able to turn off that Eggman guy's devices, but where can I find Tipper's?**

Phone in hand, Kitty left the auditorium and went back upstairs to the hall where the confrontation continued, with Eggman fleeing the scene on his hovercraft, Sonic pointing and laughing at him in mockery, Knuckles clutching Bob in a iron gripped headlock while Niki repeatedly punched the purple cat in the face, and Sara and Tails pinning Tipper to the floor.

"Niki!" Kitty gasped, watching Bob take another punch from her friend. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get him to tell us where they hid their brainwashing equipment!" Niki answered, her blue eyes fixed on the goofball cat. "Bob, tell me. Where are your brainwashing mechanism things?"

"These are not the droids you are looking for," Bob replied, making a funny face as he spoke, earning him another blow to the face from Niki. "Okay, fine! I'll tell you!"

"You will?" Kitty asked, hopeful.

"Nope!" Another punch.

"Niki, I don't think hitting him is going to work," Sara said with a half shrug.

"Torture always works!" Niki responded, raising her fist once again, when she paused. "Here, how about I keep interrogating him, while some of you split up and search the school. How does that sound?"

"Fair enough," Kitty said with a nod, before exiting the hall and heading downstairs once more.

"Sonic!" Niki commanded, grabbing the cocky blue hedgehog's attention. "You're not doing anything of real importance right now. Go help Kitty find and disable Tipper's devices."

"Okay!" Sonic replied, thinking nothing of being ordered around as he followed Kitty downstairs.

"Tails, fly Tipper to the police station!" Niki continued, pointing to the two tailed fox. "Sara, go with him in case she tries to escape." Tails and Sara nodded and Sara too left to descend the stairs, while Tails used his twin tails to propel himself out the window, gripping Tipper's arms tightly. Once everyone moved out, Niki turned back to Bob, who now had a black eye, a bloody nose, and a giant black bruise on his right cheek.

"Now, where were we?"

* * *

><p>Upon reaching the main hallway, Kitty and Sonic split up to search the school for anything that Tipper used to manipulate the talent show goers. They checked any unlocked classrooms, the school store, the teachers' lounges, any open offices, the gym, and the cafeteria, but found nothing. Kitty sighed as she paused to look along a row of lockers for anything, while Sonic sped ahead of her to check the bulletin boards scattered on the walls. Kitty continued walking through the hall, scanning her surroundings up and down, when she noticed an unusually proportioned white ball of light shining through the air vent latched onto the ceiling. Kitty stood on her toes and peered closer at it, when she could make out a blinking red light as well.<p>

"There they are!" Kitty exclaimed, blinking in surprise. "Sonic! I found them! They're in the air vents!"

"What?" A flash of blue emerged from the end of the hallway, before Sonic was standing next to Kitty, who pointed up at the space in the ceiling that led into the ventilation system.

"Up there! Can you give me a boost?" Kitty asked the hedgehog. Sonic responded by picking up Kitty and placing her on his shoulders, giving her just enough height to open the latch leading inside the air vents and hoisting herself in. Sonic waited down below as Kitty found the source of the light: a red and white circular shaped laser beam. Kitty gawked at it for a moment before dislodging it from the vent and throwing it down for Sonic to dispose of it. Kitty continued to clamber through the winding air vents, traveling in what felt like a spiral as she collected one more beam after another. Some of the ventilation panels were rusty, turning Kitty's paws red due to the friction created by the rough metal, and Kitty found herself having mini coughing fits from the dust that lingered inside the vents. She was carrying nearly a dozen of them by the time she returned to where she started. Looking down and seeing the blue hedgehog again, the cat tossed Tipper's mechanisms to him before dropping down from the ventilation opening, and he in turn speedily destroyed each device with a swift punch or kick, finishing off the last one just in time to catch Kitty before she could hit the floor in a rough landing.

"Thanks…" Kitty mumbled, when she saw Niki and Knuckles running down the hall to meet them.

"Awesome job, you guys!" Niki exclaimed, patting her friend on the back once Sonic let her down. "Everyone's back to normal. Thanks!"

"You're welcome," Kitty replied rather tiredly. The group stood there in a brief silence, when they started to hear music blended with the sounds of people chatting and clapping.

"It sounds like the talent show's back on," Knuckles commented, listening closely to the noise echoing from the auditorium.

"Hey, it is!" Kitty said, her ear twitching from picking up the sounds. "Niki, you should probably get back there before the show ends."

"Yeah, you're right," Niki responded, nodding curtly. "I'll catch you guys later." With that, Niki turned and ran off, dashing back into the auditorium and sneaking backstage while a heavy metal band were jamming and screaming into the microphones. Niki quietly watched the rest of the show from behind the curtain, and soon she was rejoined by Sara and Marissa. After the last act had finished performing, there was a short intermission, before Madeline returned to the stage with a glittery silver envelope in her spherical hands.

"Thank you everyone for coming, and thank you to all of our performers tonight," Madeline began, applauding briefly. "You guys were fantastic. Nevertheless, we have a winner." Everyone that was onstage waited anxiously backstage, peeking through the curtain as Madeline tore the envelope open and pulled out a white index card with light, fancy script handwriting on it.

"And now, the winner of the Animon High Annual Talent Show is…"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Madeline held up the note card in front of her face to glance at it briefly, giving a small nod. The performers awaiting their fate leaned in closer with anticipation; hanging on Madeline's every word. Madeline smirked as she held onto this suspense, before clearing her throat and continuing.

"NSM! Congratulations, Niki, Sara, and Marissa!" The audience erupted in cheers as Niki, Sara, and Marissa, clearly in shock, run out onstage to collect their awards, tiny gold trophies with a giant star on top of the school's name and show date, from Madeline, who smiled at them and clapped along with the audience. The girls' shock turned to thrill as Niki and Sara high-fived each other, while Marissa casually waved to the crowd. Niki and Sara looked out into the crowd and saw Kitty and the rest of their friends, along with Sonic and his friends, giving them thumbs-ups. Marissa smirked and laughed when she saw Shadow standing in the corner, near the edge of the stage, grinning at her.

"You guys were awesome! Loved the song," Madeline said to the girls aside, when Marissa quickly grabbed the microphone off the podium where Madeline was standing.

"Hey everyone! Victory party at my place tomorrow night!" Marissa announced, earning more cheering from the crowds as she put the microphone back.

* * *

><p>The following night, the entire Animon High student body (save for Chrissy and her crew, who decided to be sore losers and not show) arrived at Eggman's base for a raging house party. Much to Marissa's pleasant surprise, Shadow kindly consented and even agreed to co-host the party with her. The base was sloppily decorated with balloons and streamers carelessly flung throughout the place, and in the corner by the entrance was a long table with a dozen boxes of pizza, random alcoholic beverages, and various baked goods piled on it. Music was blaring from Marissa's iPod, hooked up to her tall, black, stereo speakers, to which people danced to in large clusters. Niki swayed along, boogieing her way through the crowd until she caught up with Marissa.<p>

"Hey Marissa! Great party!" the blonde-haired girl said, grinning as she bobbed her head to the music.

"Hey, thanks," Marissa replied, giving Niki the "'sup" nod as she returned the smile. Niki and Marissa watched as the circle in the middle of the room opened up, and several students, including Sonic, Knuckles, and Katrina, battled it out in a dance-off, while everyone else cheered them on as they continued dancing themselves. Around the circle, some party-goers were dancing in smaller clusters, while others were having beer drinking contests, flipping over furniture and breaking lamps and vases, and even playing around with some of Eggman's smaller, more menial contraptions. After Katrina performed a back flip to end her mini routine, Niki decided to jump in and strut her stuff. Meanwhile, Sara was navigating through the area, taking a full look at the party going on around her. A random couple was making out in the darkest corner of the room. A large group of friends were drunkenly piled on top of each other on a worn out cream sofa. A large, rather fat student with several white sheets wrapped around him was running around the room proclaiming himself as "Sheet Man". A football was flying back and forth between two jocks, until one of them finally missed and it crashed into a tall, framed portrait of an old man who looked similar to the one Sara and her friends encountered back at school during the crazy shenanigans, knocking it off the wall. Two more kids were crouched down in front of what appeared to be someone else, thick, black sharpies in hand. Sara turned her head and noticed her more outgoing friend amongst the largest crowd of people, being cheered for as she showed off her fancy footwork with moves that she and Sara learned from their Zumba classes. Niki suddenly paused and gasped, right as the song playing changed to "Crank it Up" by David Guetta and Akon, before breaking into a huge grin.

"Aw, yeah! This is my jam!" Niki cried, jumping up and down and throwing her arm in the air to fist pump. Sara giggled and gave a small facepalm at her friend's goofiness, and even more so at the fact that the entire crowd joined in with her.

* * *

><p>Eggman was deep in the base, standing in front of a wall vigorously scribbling on a long sheet of paper taped to it. He could hear the faint beats of different music and the occasional <em>thump <em>from above, but Eggman thought nothing of it and continued his work, at least until he heard the sound of something smashing against a hard surface, probably the wall. More aggravated by the distraction than worried about a possible intruder, Eggman grumbled to himself as he turned to go upstairs to check out the noise.

* * *

><p>"Come on Sara!" Niki called out, beckoning to her friend while being rubbed up against by same jocks who destroyed the portrait with their football. Sara's face flushed a rosy hue as she waved her hands in front of her to say no.<p>

"No way Niki, I'm not nearly as good of a dancer as you," Sara replied, starting to back away. "In fact, I'm not a good dancer, period."

"Oh come on! It's fun!" Niki said, still trying to wave Sara over, but Sara wouldn't budge, instead crossing her arms.

"Sorry Niki, but I'd just look ridiculous!" Sara protested, shaking her head. However, her protests went unheeded as Niki ran over to her and grabbed her by her arms, before pulling her to the crowd. Trying to hide her embarrassment, Sara slowly performed some small movements, staying close to Niki, who had already resumed her showy dancing. Marissa was hanging back by the couch, smiling to herself as she watched everyone partying all around her and having fun.

"Well, Shadow, I'd say this party was a success," the brunette mused nonchalantly, turning towards her hedgehog accomplice. "Uh, Shadow?" Marissa saw that Shadow was lying passed out on a glass coffee table next to her, with male genitals and other vulgar drawings scrawled on his face in bright red Sharpie. Marissa snickered as she pulled out her phone to take a picture. _Hehe, this'll be good blackmail…_ After snapping a photo, Marissa quickly saved it before stuffing her phone back into her pocket, before continuing to watch the spectacle going on in the base. A group of girls were dancing on a table, a rather short kid was surfing the dancing crowd, Eggman was coming up the stairs… _Wait…what? … Eggman's coming up the stairs? Oh shit!_ Marissa's eyes widened as Eggman entered the room, gasping in horror at the sight. Marissa lightly placed a hand over her mouth to avoid letting out a gasp herself. _Oh crap, here it comes…_

"WHAT IN THE BLAZES IS GOING ON HERE?" Eggman shrieked, his face turning red, his teeth gritting in anger. Marissa could've sworn that she saw smoke blow out of the doctor's ears. Just like that, the party came to a screeching halt. The music stopped, the dancing stopped, all other party activities stopped, and everyone turned to stare at Eggman, as if time had stopped for a snapshot. The room briefly fell into an awkward pause, before Eggman continued his raging rampage. "Party's over, you crazy kids! Everybody OUT!" The awkward silence continued. "I SAID GET OUT!" Eggman's gruff voice startled everyone, and they quickly scrambled to find their friends and duck out of the base before Eggman could grab a shotgun or something that cranky old men do when disturbed by a bunch of roughhousing teenagers. A blue blur flashed by, as even Sonic darted out of the base, snickering to himself at his enemy's expense. Eggman's base was cleared out within minutes, and all that was left was the damage done after a night of hard partying. Broken and flipped over furniture and other treasures were lying on the floor in pieces. Beer cans, red plastic cups, some of Eggman's inventions, and even toilet paper littered the room from top to bottom. Lasers and bullets from some of Eggman's weapons made burns and dents in the walls and windows. Marissa and Shadow, the latter who had finally awoken after Eggman scared everyone away, gulped and glanced at each other uneasily when they realized that the room was a complete wreck.

"We should…probably just go…" Marissa muttered, trailing off as Shadow nodded and the two turned to leave as well, when the sound of Eggman's fury stopped them in their tracks.

"Shadow! Marissa!"

Shadow and Marissa stared at each other as they hesitated, before opting not to run off. There was no point in even trying, considering that Eggman was standing behind them, tapping his foot irritably. After another brief silence, Shadow awkwardly smirked at Marissa, and Marissa gave a short, nervous laugh. They were in so much trouble.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17-

The next school day, Niki was walking in the hall by herself, strolling along as she headed for math class, when she stopped by the bulletin board in the center of the hallway. Another flashy poster had caught her eye, and she noticed the signup sheets for Student Council elections below the poster. She looked at the list and saw a few names scribbled underneath the 'President' category, including Chrissy's, whose name was written in large, bold, pink cursive letters at the top of the list.

"Hmm…maybe I could run for President," Niki quietly said to herself, when she glanced over and saw Tangy walking in her direction. "Hey Tangy! What do you think of me running for Student Council President?"

"I think that's a great idea, Niki!" Tangy answered energetically, bearing her usual peppy grin. "You should totally go for it.

"Great! Thanks Tangy!" Niki said, waving at the orange cat and giving her a goofy thumbs-up as she left for her science class. So Niki then signed her name on the President list and headed for math class.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a still enraged Eggman was pacing back and forth between Shadow and Marissa down in Eggman's base. He glared coldly at both of them, as he stopped his pacing directly in front of them. Shadow crossed his arms and glanced over at Marissa. <em>Oh boy, here it comes…<em>

"Unbelievable! Ridiculous! How can you two let that pesky blue hedgehog have a wild, rambunctious party in _my_ headquarters?" Marissa looked back at Shadow and smirked for a moment. Did Eggman really think that _Sonic _was responsible for that party? _I guess we're not in the kind of trouble we think we're in…_ Marissa thought in her mind, returning her gaze to her boss. "My base is completely wrecked and it's your fault for not stopping him!" Eggman continued, raising his voice. "I'm not paying you to party with those stupid kids!"

"You're not paying us at all, Eggman," Marissa retorted, narrowing her eyebrows, annoyed.

"And now that blasted hedgehog knows where my base is set up!" Eggman ranted, ignoring the human girl. "That hedgehog might have figured out the operation! This could hurt the plans for world domination!" There was an awkward silence, as Eggman stared down his two minions, who blankly stared back at him, almost refusing to answer. "You two need to keep this plan moving!" Eggman finally said. "I don't want any more screw ups! You hear?" Shadow and Marissa nodded and pulled out two red and green gemstones, before disappearing via Chaos Control. Eggman sighed with irritation as he turned towards one of his many machines in progress: a life-sized metal replica of himself that fired grenades. The doctor bent down beside his work, grabbed a toolbox, and began to tweak the robot.

"Ugh, sometimes I wonder about those two…"

* * *

><p>"Hey everyone! I'm running for Student Council President!" Niki announced to her friends later at lunch.<p>

"President? Wow, that's great, Niki!" Sara exclaimed while poking her salad with a plastic fork.

"Good for you, Niki," Kitty said encouragingly before biting into a tuna fish sandwich.

"Hey! I got an idea!" Kiki piped up, a piece of lettuce from her salad hanging from her mouth. "Why don't Sara, Kitty, and Tangy each run for an office, and then Cookie and I can help you with your campaign!"

"Sorry…" Cookie said, after finishing off a can of Coke. "Biskit and I are helping Melba with her campaign."

"Maybe we could help each other," Sara suggested with a shrug. "And we still have Kiki." The group mumbled a series of "Good ideas", before Kitty spoke again.

"Alright, so…I say that Sara runs for Vice President, I'll run for Secretary, and Tangy can run for Treasurer."

"Good plan," Sara responded with a nod. "And if we all win, then we'll be taking over Student Council." Everyone chuckled shortly, before the bell rang, cueing the students to start filing out of the cafeteria.

"Okay!" the blonde girl said. "We've got work to do! Let's go girls!"

"Okay!" the girls replied in unison, getting up and throwing away their lunches, before heading to Study Hall to start brainstorming for posters and speeches.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18-

Right as the bell rang, Niki, Sara, Kitty, Tangy, and Kiki walked into the library for Study Hall. The library was furnished with light wooden tables that were surrounded by shelves of books. Right by the door was the librarian's desk of the same color and material, and a printer for students to print out their homework. Relieved to finally have free period, Niki sat down at a table with her friends and looked around. Melba, Lucy, Moe, and Patty, a group of students Niki recognized from other classes, occupied one table next to them, while Chrissy and her crew occupied another across the room. Niki and the others pulled out paper and pencils and began scribbling on them as they began to think.

"Let's see here…" Tangy muttered, beginning to draw sketches of potential campaign posters as the group started working.

Over at Chrissy's table, the popular clique was working on their own campaign plans. Chrissy peered at each of her feline friends as they diligently wrote rough drafts of their speeches.

"So…everyone in our group will be on Student Council next year," Chrissy said, to which each of the cats nodded as they kept working. "Because everyone's running for something, and of course we'll win."

"Not me," Rosie cut in, raising her paw no higher than her face. "I was told not to run for anything." There was a brief silence as Chrissy and Purrl shot knowing glances at each other.

"Well, then," Purrl spoke up, still looking at Chrissy, before turning to Rosie. "Since you can't run for anything because one girl each is running, we've decided to let you go." Chrissy nodded curtly, while Rosie's jaw dropped open, as she gaped at Purrl in shock.

"You mean you're kicking me out of the group just because I'm not campaigning?" Rosie asked, slightly horrified. "But that's not fair! It's not my fault that there aren't enough Student Council positions for all of us to run for!"

"Yeah, you're out. Sorry," Chrissy said brusquely, ignoring Rosie's argument. "Buh-bye now!" The royal blue cat hesitated, staring at the group one more time before she began sniffling and got up. Back at Niki's table, Kitty turned around and saw Rosie hastily duck out of the library.

"What were they talking about?" the brown cat questioned, scratching her head in confusion. "How odd…"

"I'll go see what the problem is," Sara offered, rising from her seat and walking out of the library. She saw Rosie run into the girls' bathroom, and followed her inside, where she heard sniffling, and then sobbing. "Rosie?" The blue cat turned to face Sara with tears streaming down her face. "Rosie, what's wrong?" Sara asked. Rosie sniffled again and blew her nose into a paper towel before answering.

"I-I was kicked out of the Bratz Catz since I'm not running for Student Council," Rosie told Sara. "Chrissy and Purrl wanted everyone in the group to be on Student Council." Sara nodded as she listened intently, while Rosie continued to bawl.

"Hey…" Sara responded, gently placing a hand on Rosie's shoulder. "Don't feel so down about it. Those girls are mean anyway. You wouldn't want to be like that all your life, would you?" Rosie paused for a moment to think, as if reflecting on what Sara was saying to her.

"Well, not really…" Rosie answered, her voice shaky from so much crying. "I know there are better things in life than being popular…but you do need to have friends."

"That's true," Sara said with a small nod. "Hey, would you like to come sit with me and my friends?" Rosie blinked with surprise, before nodding vigorously.

"Sure! I'd like that a lot!" Rosie exclaimed happily, wiping her face and following Sara out of the bathroom and back into the library.

"Hey guys, Rosie's going to join us, if you don't mind," Sara said to her friends, smiling while pulling up a chair for Rosie.

"Hi!" Rosie greeted enthusiastically, sitting down next to Sara, who was seated next to Tangy. The group's eyes widened in bewilderment, and everyone was giving Sara strange looks.

"Wait, Rosie?" Tangy questioned, not bothering to hide her shock. "Uh, Sara, what is going on here?"

"Rosie?" Kitty exclaimed, her dark eyes darting from Sara to Rosie, as if questioning Sara's kind gesture. "I thought she was one of the Bratz Catz!"

"She is!" Tangy added.

"Not anymore," Rosie replied. "I got kicked out because I'm not running for Student Council like the rest of the group is."

"Why?" asked Kitty. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"It doesn't but Chrissy wanted everyone in the group to be on Student Council," Rosie answered. "So that left me, and…" The blue cat sighed, unable to finish her sentence, when she suddenly lowered her voice to assure that Chrissy and her remaining friends couldn't hear. "But I can help you with your campaigns! I had a lot of ideas when I was kicked out."

"Really? Thanks!" Tangy said with a grin. "That could help us out."

"So, who's running for office?" Rosie inquired.

"Us four," the orange cat replied, pointing to each girl (save for Kiki, who was still perfecting a sketch for a campaign poster).

"All four of you? Wow!" Rosie exclaimed, staring at the group in both amazement and awe. "So you guys are doing the same thing that Chrissy is planning?"

"I guess," Niki answered with a shrug. "So, what ideas do you have in mind for our campaigns, Rosie?"

"A lot!" Rosie replied, grabbing a sheet of paper and a pencil. "You know how some people use famous political figures on their posters? I was thinking that maybe you guys can use popular music stars on your's. You know, maybe use their lyrics as your slogans?"

"Hey, that's not bad," Niki commented, and everyone else nodded in agreement. The girls continued to spend the rest of the period working on sketches and rough drafts for their posters and speeches, with Chrissy eyeing them suspiciously as she and her group did the same.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19-

The bell rang, and the girls leave their Study Hall and head for their next classes. Kitty is walking through the halls, clutching her stack of books to her chest as she weaved past other students who were either chatting with their friends at their lockers or just walking too slow for her liking. She was about halfway to class when a certain red hedgehog stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey," Shadow greeted, grinning at the cat while he was leaning against his locker.

"Hey," Kitty said, a bit startled by the hedgehog's sudden appearance. Though he was only lingering by his locker, to her it felt like he had popped out of nowhere. She gave a small smile to Shadow before continuing on down the long hallway.

"So I missed you at my party the other night." Kitty kept walking, but she turned around to see that Shadow had decided to follow her. His smile had slightly dropped, but he still looked decently content.

"I'm sure you did," Kitty responded, giving a small chuckle as Shadow passed a group of students to catch up with her. The cat glanced over and noticed that she was now standing right outside of her next class, English, so she figured that she had some time to talk to Shadow. Kitty blinked, her eyes widening when she remembered the last time she saw Shadow: the night of the talent show when she saw him tampering with the speaker system while everyone was running amok under the influence of the enemy- er, enemies. Now was her chance to address that. "Hey, Shadow…what were you doing with those speakers during the talent show?" Kitty asked him. "You know, when everyone was acting crazy. It looked like you were tinkering with the speakers or something." Now Shadow's eyes widened, but only for a second.

"Hmm…uh…" the hedgehog began. He turned away and cursed to himself, feeling like an idiot for not being stealthy enough to go undetected by everyone that night. He opened his mouth to say something else, only to be cut off by the bell. "Sorry Kitty, but I'm late for class. I'll catch you later though," Shadow said to the cat, before turning around and dashing off.

"Um, okay, see ya," Kitty said, sighing as she walked into the classroom. She was disappointed that she didn't get an answer, but that only made her more set on getting him to spill. _Well…Shadow seems like an okay guy I suppose…_ Kitty thought to herself as she sat down next to Cookie. _Besides, this is a fairly large school. What are the odds that I would be talking to someone who was working for the enemy?_

* * *

><p>When the bell rang at the end of the day, the girls met up at Niki's house to continue working until dinnertime. By the time they finished, Niki's regal themed living room was an utter mess. Glitter was scattered across the carpet, unused scraps of paper piled up on the table, and various arts and crafts supplies cluttered the room. A dozen campaign posters between each girl running for Student Council were tucked in the corner of the room, next to Niki's orange, oversized Gracie purse that she used as her backpack. Everyone else's backpacks, purses, and overnight bags lined the back wall of the room, as everyone was staying over for a slumber party.<p>

"We're done!" Niki cheered. The girls then proceeded to chat and do their homework, while eating pizza and various other snacks that Niki prepared ahead of time. Everyone was relaxing and lounging around the house, and the snacks gradually disappeared from their plates and bowls as the night went on, when suddenly Niki pushed the posters and supplies aside and yelled, "Pillow fight!" Sara shrieked in surprise as Niki chucked a pillow at her face.

"Hey!" Sara cried, laughing as she threw it back, clonking Niki on the head. Niki paused to rub her head, before throwing the pillow at Rosie, who caught it and used it to whack Kitty in the back. Kitty chuckled as she whipped a pillow at Tangy, who snickered before she started throwing a dozen smaller, throw pillows everywhere. Everyone screamed and ducked, also using the pillows they had on them as makeshift shields as this went on for almost ten minutes, until Tangy finally ran out of pillows.

"Uh oh…" Tangy mumbled, looking around with shifty eyes. There was a quick silence, before Niki and Sara charged at the orange cat, clutching their slightly flattened pillows, but Tangy managed to jump up and dodge them both, before she grabbed two more throw pillows to 'reload'. Everyone giggled and ducked again to avoid being hit, but they didn't have much of a care, as they were having a blast at Niki's. The girls continued pillow fighting until around midnight, and the room was an even bigger wreck when they all finally fell asleep for the night.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20-

The next day, Niki, Sara, and Kitty were on their way to math class. It was another day, yet the place seemed a tad quieter, be it whether Chrissy and her friends were cutting class again, or if there was a field trip for some other class that the girls didn't know about. The girls were approaching the door of the classroom, when they noticed another presence behind them.

"Hi guys!" The girls turned around and noticed that Tails was walking in the hall, about to pass them. Being right outside their class with plenty of time, the girls stopped and stood next to the door, stepping to the side of the hall so they weren't blocking anyone's path.

"Hey Tails!" Niki said, giving a friendly smile to the kitsune. "What's up?"

"I heard you guys were running for Student Council," Tails responded, readjusting the load of books he was carrying. "Would you like some help with your campaign?"

"Sure! We'll need a lot of help if we want to beat Chrissy," Kitty answered, nodding at the girls. "Thanks for offering! How nice of you."

"Yes, this is all part of my master plan to rule the school," Niki said in a fake menacing voice, rubbing her hands together underneath her books and laughing. "Get everyone to help us with our campaign so that we have the numbers to win. It's foolproof!"

"_That's_ your master plan?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow at Niki. "Really?"

"Haha, no," Niki replied with a giggle, reverting back to her normal laughter. "I have no master plan. But I do have this cheeseburger." The blonde human reached into her pockets and pulled out a stale looking cheeseburger, earning her three strange stares.

"Why do you have that?" Kitty asked, slightly grossed out by the old food. The cat crinkled her nose in disgust at the filthy stench emanating from the burger and stepped back.

"I…don't…know," Niki answered, shrugging as she tossed it into a nearby trash can, when Amy randomly appeared at Kitty's side. "Oh hey Amy."

"Hey guys," Amy greeted, waving to each person. "You know, the Spring Fling is in two weeks, and the decorating committee is running low on students. Maybe we could sign-up and help." Niki, Sara, and Kitty exchanged glances at each other, before they shrugged and nodded.

"That's a great idea, Amy," Sara said, right as the bell rang. "We'll go later."

"Great! See you then!" Amy responded, as the girls disappeared inside the classroom, before she and Tails took off in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Shadow and Marissa were walking down another hallway, escorting who appeared to be a new teacher. From a distance the figure looked only human, but up close they turned out to be a robot designed as a human. The robot bore a resemblance to Eggman, only slimmer and with an unkempt, brown, scruffy wig on his head. The robot's black eyes looked like buttons found on other machinery hidden behind silver, slightly rusted glasses, and the nose was a small, metal cone painted orange, similar to a snowman's nose. Dressed in a red blouse, yellow tie, black pants, and black dress shoes, the robot was able to blend right in with the Animon High faculty, as he passed by two teachers without any questions being asked. Marissa raised an eyebrow and skeptically glanced over at Shadow as they were coming up on the science lab.<p>

"I think we can both agree that this plan sucks ass," Marissa commented, to which Shadow silently nodded. "Eggman is confident that this little plan will work," Marissa continued, as they stopped outside the door, standing away from the small window to avoid the students' eyes peeking outside the door and seeing them. "But are we really sure this will work?"

"Really, this is one of Eggman's lamest plans to date," Shadow said, shaking his head as the robot opened the door of the lab. "But you never know." The duo watched as the robot disappeared inside the larger classroom and began teaching as if he did it on a regular basis.

"Well, we've got that taken care of," Marissa mused, eyeing the robot from the hall and nodding approvingly. "Let's go." The two walked down the hall together, before splitting up in opposite corridors of the school as they headed for their morning classes.

* * *

><p>Later after school, Niki and her group of friends, plus Tails and Amy, walked into the gym, where a large group of animals were scattered throughout the gym, busily decorating. Mitzi and Olivia were running around with streamers, Sabrina and Thorn were tying balloons to the bleachers, Madeline and Katrina were taping paper flowers and more balloons to the walls, and many more animals were moving tables and chairs around, before placing colorful tablecloths on the former.<p>

"Alright, let's get started," Niki said, grabbing a large, pink streamer, with Tails nodding and holding the other end. Tails ran up the bleachers, while Niki climbed a ladder as they started to move the streamer around until they found a good spot for it. Sara tossed Niki and Tails each a roll of scotch tape for them to secure the streamer, when Niki suddenly felt the ladder disappear from under her feet. Mitzi had pulled Niki's ladder away, causing the human to let out a rather high-pitched yelp as she fell. "Ow! Damn it!" Niki yelled as her butt crashed landed on the floor, followed by her head.

"Niki! Are you alright over there?" Tails asked, dropping the streamer and running over to Niki. Mitzi ran away, with Tangy angrily shaking her fist and yelling at the blue and white cat from behind.

"Bitch get back here!" the orange cat shouted, her face turning red with anger when Mitzi ignored her. Tangy was ready to run after Mitzi and pounce on her (pun…sort of intended), when the orange cat came face to face with a brown paw.

"Tangy, stop," Kitty advised. "As much of a bitch as she is, it's not worth it." Tangy pouted and crossed her arms.

"Fine…" Tangy grumbled, blowing a strand of fur off her face. Mitzi let out a brisk "Hmph!" as she sauntered out of the gym, while Tails helped Niki to her feet.

"If your head hurts, maybe the nurse can bandage it for you if she's still here," the fox suggested, quickly scanning Niki's blonde head. Niki chuckled as she rubbed her head.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Niki replied. "Thanks anyway." The group moved on to blow up more balloons and let them float to the ceiling, while Olivia was climbing another ladder to hang up the disco ball. The white cat smirked when she noticed that Niki was right below her, and she giggled to herself as she "accidentally" dropped it. Simultaneously, Niki glanced up after releasing a green balloon, when she realized that the disco ball was falling, and was about to meet her head.

"Holy shit!" Niki exclaimed, quickly diving out of the way. Niki dodged with perfect timing. Right as she had turned and did a small roll out of its path, the disco ball hit the floor, in the spot that Niki was just in, and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces.

"Oops! Sorry!" Olivia said innocently, letting out another short laugh while shrugging, before climbing down the ladder and dashing off. Niki watched with dismay and wonder at Olivia as she disappeared out of the gym.

"Oh no she didn't…" the blonde human muttered to herself, raising an eyebrow with her jaw hanging open.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21-

The next day at lunch, Niki's typical lunch table, minus Rosie who was sick and Kiki who was off having lunch with other friends, was gathered together, plus Madeline and Thorn. Niki swallowed a piece of her turkey sandwich before clearing her throat.

"So, you two are running for Student Council as well," Niki began, making a small gesture towards Madeline and Thorn while taking another bite of her sandwich. "So, who's helping you with your campaigns?" The entire table was rambling off aimlessly as they made small talk, the topics varying from Student Council elections to the upcoming Spring Fling dance.

"My friend Miley is helping me," Madeline answered after taking a bite of her ham and cheese sandwich.

"Sabrina's helping me," Thorn replied between bites of her apple. Her voice was slightly muffled by the pieces of fruit in her mouth, but her words were still audible.

"Where's Katrina?" Sara asked, turning to jump into the conversation after discussing Spring Fling wardrobe with Tangy and Kitty.

"She went out to lunch with some friends," Madeline replied, casually running a hand through her curly red hair. "Because she can do that."

"We wanted to come, but we couldn't because we're not seniors," Thorn added, when the sight of one kid hitting another on the head with a banana grabbed her attention.

"Oh that's right," Kitty piped up, nodding as she turned to toss her leftovers into the trash can behind her. "Yeah, it's too bad that only seniors can go out for lunch. Cafeteria food kind of sucks."

"That's because they have cars and can drive," Tangy said, taking no notice of the banana peel that went flying over her head. "So also juniors can do that too I think." The girls nodded as they continued eating, creating a momentary silence at the table.

"I wish I had a car…" Madeline said with a sigh, starting to stare off into space as she imagined herself driving. "Then I could have lunch somewhere else. Somewhere nicer than an old, gross cafeteria."

"Me too," Thorn responded wistfully. "It is more fun than eating in the cafeteria." Niki and Sara looked over at the lunches that Cookie and Biskit were having, courtesy of the cafeteria: spaghetti and meatballs. Sara grimaced when she saw a tiny roly poly curled up in between the meatballs on Biskit's tray, while Niki only chuckled and made a sickly face.

"I guess so," Niki mumbled with a shrug, before shoving the remainder of her sandwich into her mouth.

"Well, we're getting driving lessons in a few years, so…" Sara trailed off. There was another pause among the group, when Thorn's eyes brightened as she thought of something.

"So I heard that Rosie got kicked out of the Bratz Catz," Thorn stated, looking around at everyone with intrigue.

"Yeah, me too!" Madeline chimed in, immediately interested in the new topic. "Does anyone know why?"

"It's because she's not running for Student Council," Sara replied, pulling out an oversized sugar cookie and biting into it. "Chrissy wanted everyone in her clique to be on Student Council, so Rosie would've been left out by being left over." More murmurs erupted amongst them.

"That sucks," Thorn commented while chewing on a bite of a chocolate chip cookie.

"I know!" Madeline agreed, louder than intended, when she glanced over at Thorn. "Please don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry," Thorn responded with a mouth full of cookie, before swallowing.

"Thank you," Madeline said, while everyone rolled their eyes and let out grunts and mumbles of amusement.

* * *

><p>Later that night, after finishing her homework, Kitty was typing away on her shiny, white laptop. She was lying on her stomach on her lovely bed, surrounded by the lovely furniture series in her living room, wall and carpet included, with her backpack and books resting next to the lovely loveseat by the front door. Despite being done with her homework, Kitty didn't stop working. She busied herself by doing research on Dr. Eggman, the mustached man she and her friends had ran into at the talent show. They were right about Tipper and Bob wanting to use the school in their obnoxious plans to rule the world, but they didn't expect this strange guy to be after Animon as well. So Kitty was going to dig up some dirt about him so she and the others would get an idea as to who this guy was and what his real agenda was. She had typed his name into Google, and came up with a variety of results, all producing the same basic information. He was a middle-aged scientist who was the grandson of Dr. Gerald Robotnik, another brilliant scientist who had once tried to destroy the Earth with the Solar Eclipse Cannon, only to be foiled by Sonic the Hedgehog and his pals.<p>

"Today Eggman is notorious for constantly attacking cities and people in his attempts to take over the world, only to be stopped by Sonic every time," Kitty read aloud as she scrolled down to click on other information. Each result she clicked on provided the same common facts about Eggman, while each one included other, more obscure information. Kitty read through extracts of Gerald Robotnik's diary, which brought her to the conclusion that Eggman had unwittingly set his grandfather's plan for world destruction into motion with his own desires for world domination through the uses of the Solar Eclipse Cannon and… "Project…project what?" Kitty asked herself, peering closer at the computer screen as she read through more of Gerald's and Eggman's notes. She scrolled down again to find a few candid shots from unknown sources of the scientist terrorizing different cities and leaving in shame after being beaten by Sonic. "Wait a second? What is that?" Kitty wondered aloud as she double-clicked on one of the pictures of Eggman's robots slamming its fists into a random building. Zooming in revealed the faces of two vaguely familiar figures in the background as they were controlling the robot. One of them was a brown-haired human girl, and the other one was…

"Oh my God!" Kitty cried in shock and horror, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets upon recognizing both of the figures in the photo, more freaked out about one than about the other. "He's…he's with the enemy!" Kitty sat there in her own silence as she continued to stare open-mouthed at the screen. Emotion drained from Kitty's face as the shock wore off shortly, and she blinked a few times as she processed her newfound knowledge.

"…So this is Project Shadow…"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22-

Shadow was walking down the steps of the school building at the end of the day, with clusters of students scattering around him as they went their own ways to head home. Shadow was about to stop after the last step to wait for Marissa, when Kitty emerged from the crowd and came storming up to him, anger and anguish written bluntly on her face.

"You're working for Eggman?" Kitty exclaimed, taking Shadow by surprise. Luckily the majority of the students had cleared out of the school zone, so nobody was close enough to hear. "Project Shadow? You were a part of the attack on the night of the talent show!" Stunned, all Shadow could do was stare at Kitty while he thought of a response. He had an idea of how to explain himself when it dawned on him. His and Marissa's suspicions about Kitty from before were true. They were on opposite sides of the mission.

"Kitty…I didn't mean to be an enemy to you," Shadow replied with uncertainty. "I didn't even know you were involved with the mission at all. I obviously couldn't tell you about myself because I would have blown my cover and gotten in trouble."

"Yeah, because you're trying to destroy the school!" Kitty cried, barely listening to his defense. "I thought I could give you the benefit of the doubt when I saw you messing with the speakers, but really you've been working for the enemy the whole time!" The two gazed into each other's eyes in an awkward but tense silence. Shadow was clenching his fists, Kitty was on the verge of tears, and both were nearly at a loss for words. "You lied to me," Kitty continued, her vision blurring from her watery eyes. "I can't believe you didn't tell me what you were. Why?" Shadow ran a hand through his spikes as he tried to gather his thoughts together, but he hesitated too long, and he helplessly watched as Kitty turned around and walked away without another word.

* * *

><p>After school, Niki's friends came over to her house to do more campaign stuff. They chatted aimlessly while helping each other with their homework in between making more posters. While they were doing that, Tipper and Bob were in their poorly concealed, not-so-elaborate base, regrouping and plotting their next move after <em>finally<em> escaping from prison.

"Super Bob!" Bob chimed while he was running around, having no regard to Tipper's desire to concentrate.

"Shut up Bob!" Tipper snapped, right as Bob tripped and faceplanted into her gut, sending her crashing to the floor along with him. "Ow! Bob get the hell off of me!" Tipper roughly shoved Bob off of her and clambered to her pudgy feet. "We need to think of a plan to catch those brats and stop them from interfering with whatever plans we come up with next."

"Okay, you do that," Bob said, plopping down on Tipper's brand new gorgeous sofa and turning on the TV. Tipper began pacing the room, deep in thought as she contemplated her next move, when the _Laguna Beach_ theme song drifted into her ears.

"Is that _Laguna Beach_? Move over!" Tipper cried, pushing Bob off the couch and taking up all the room with her over-sized rear end.

"Ow!" Bob yelped as he hit the floor head-first. "Don't you have to come up with a new evil plan to-?"

"I'll do it on a commercial!" Tipper replied, eyes glued to the TV. "I love this episode! Now quiet! The show's on!" Bob sighed and rolled his eyes as he took a spot on the floor, right in front of the TV, right as the show went into a commercial break. "Okay. Back to that evil plan," Tipper said, getting up and pacing the room again. "And don't sit on the couch! That is my spot! MINE! Ya hear?" The moment Tipper turned her back, Bob took the opportunity to crawl across the floor and onto the couch. Bob sat through commercials advertising McDonald's, the upcoming DVD release of _The Hunger Games_, and reruns of _Hannah Montana_, but when _Laguna Beach_ came back on, Bob looked up and saw Tipper glaring down at him, her foot tapping impatiently. Bob grinned cheekily and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Heheh…on the floor?" Bob asked, letting out a nervous laugh. Tipper's face was red as a tomato from her rage.

"Out the window!" Tipper yelled, throwing her arms up in frustration. She picked up Bob, spun him around like a pizza, and repositioned her arms in preparation for a football pass before chucking Bob out the window. The window shattered on impact and some shards of glass fell outside along with Bob, while others scattered across the shanty floor. Bob proceeded to projectile vomit due to dizziness all over his cape, which now had pieces of glass stuck to it.

"That'll teach him to take my seat and irritate me," Tipper muttered, sitting back down on the couch to resume watching TV. Meanwhile, Amy had been walking aimlessly through Rosebud, when she came across Tipper and Bob's residence. She decided to stand and look through the window on the other side of the house to check out what was going on. She was shocked that they had managed to escape from jail, but she couldn't help but be amused by their idiocy. Still, she should probably tell someone that they escaped. So Amy ran off, heading straight to Sonic's house.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23-

After stopping to chat with various neighbors and catch the ice cream truck, Amy made it to Sonic's house. With a chocolate fudgesicle in her hand, she walked up to his royal blue house and knocked on his door. The blue hedgehog opened the door, but his face twisted in dismay when he saw his self-proclaimed girlfriend standing there.

"Amy? What do you want?" Sonic asked. Amy took this as a cue to come in, so she nudged past Sonic and entered the house. Amy was looking around at Sonic's place, admiring the blue furniture series that furnished it, when she remembered why she was there.

"Remember that cow and that purple cat?" Amy asked, to which Sonic nodded. "They escaped from jail. We should probably do something about that."

"Oh yeah, those guys," Sonic responded, tapping his chin in thought. "They must be people from this dimension. What are they up to?"

"I don't know. They were just watching TV," Amy answered, scratching her pink head.

"Those bastards!" Sonic cried, angrily shaking his fist. "How evil!" It took him a moment, but when Sonic realized what Amy said, he dropped his fist. "…Oh. Just watching TV?" Amy nodded. "They're still evil!" Amy turned away and stifled a giggle at Sonic's expense.

"Why don't we go tell Knuckles?" Amy suggested, to which Sonic agreed. So they left and headed down the road towards Knuckles' house. It was easy to spot; it was the only one with a giant Emerald in the backyard. Amy went ahead and knocked on the door, while Sonic stopped to buy ice cream from the same truck that Amy had been to.

"Amy? What's up?" Knuckles asked when he opened the door. Sonic walked up to the bright red house while eating an ice cream sandwich, while Amy explained how those crazy animals they saw before escaped from prison. Knuckles nodded accordingly as he listened, scratching his chin as he processed this new information.

"Well, I don't really know much about them," Knuckles said, still partly in thought. "And I'm kind of busy right now anyway, so-"

"Busy? With what?" Sonic questioned, raising an eyebrow. Knuckles gestured towards the backyard. "Oh, right. The Master Emerald. Sheesh, why don't you just marry the Master Emerald if you love it so much?"

"Believe me, I've looked into it," Knuckles answered, earning him some strange stares from the two hedgehogs. "But just go ask Niki and her friends. They probably know who those weirdoes are."

"Worth a shot," Sonic replied, turning to leave. "Thanks Knux." Knuckles closed his door as Sonic and Amy walked away. They continued down the road for about half a mile before turning a corner and arriving at Niki's house. Once again, Amy knocked on the door, and in turn the blonde human answered.

"Yay! More company!" Niki cheered, stepping aside to let Sonic and Amy pass through. "Come on in." The hedgehogs complied and stepped into the house, where they saw several of Niki's friends, plus Tails. Having overheard Niki, everyone looked to see the blue hero with his pink cohort entering the living room.

"Sonic? Amy? What are you doing here?" Tails asked.

"What are you doing here?" Amy asked the orange fox, but Sonic brushed it off.

"Eh, never mind that for now," Sonic said, taking a seat on Niki's new gorgeous sofa. "We need to ask you guys something."

"Sure, ask away," Niki replied, setting aside a giant piece of poster board. "What is it?"

"You know that cow and purple cat we saw that night of the talent show?" Amy inquired. Niki nodded, when her eyes brightened with recognition.

"Oh, yes, Tipper and Bob," Niki said, chuckling to herself. "Yeah I know them." Sonic noticed all of Niki's friends nod, as they all must have known who Niki was talking about. Tails continued to draw on one of their posters that were lying around, but his perked ears showed that he was still listening. Amy looked over at Sonic; he seemed to be lying back, ready to absorb whatever information Niki was going to give, so she decided to be the one to press on.

"Tipper and Bob? Who are they?" Amy questioned. Niki paused for a moment to gather her thoughts, so Sara began to answer.

"Well, Tipper's the cow, and Bob's the cat, for starters," Sara said to their newer friends. "They're huge troublemakers around here." Sara glanced over at Niki, who took this as a cue to continue.

"They're major rivals of ours, probably our biggest rivals," Niki continued, her blue eyes showing reflection as a few memories of Tipper and Bob popped into her head. "Partly because most of the trouble they cause is trouble for us. We worked in a movie studio, but she always tried to take over because I fired them for misconduct."

"Sounds…crazy," Sonic mumbled, slightly skeptical. "But interesting. So anyway, these guys escaped from prison. We need to stop them before they do anything else to destroy that school of yours."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how to go about that," Niki began, when Sara suddenly cut her off.

"Wait, they actually got out of jail?!" the dark-haired human exclaimed, her eyes widened, clearly shocked. "Really?! They were actually smart enough to figure out a way out?"

"Yeah, I know. Shocking," Niki said casually, brushing it off like it's no big deal. "But they won't be out for long. We can always just raid their place and drag them back to the police station. Then let the cops deal with it."

"Well, that plan sounds good to me," Sara responded with a shrug. "We'll do that." Everyone else nodded in agreement. So it was settled then.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kitty and Kiki were sitting on the pink lovely bed in Kitty's room. Kitty was crying and pouring her heart out to Kiki, telling her about Shadow and what she found out about him, while Kiki listened intently while patting the brown cat's back.<p>

"I-I can't believe him!" Kitty choked out, her words partly drowned out by her sobbing. "He lied to me. How could he do that?" Kiki's ears drooped. She felt so bad for Kitty, but she honestly had no clue of what to say. She sat there and watched Kitty wipe her eyes, while she tried to come up with a response.

"I don't know, Kitty," Kiki replied, pausing again to reach for more words. "Some guys…they don't know what they're doing when they do it. They just screw up a lot."

"I liked him. I actually liked him!" Kitty wailed, barely listening to her feline friend. "How could I have been so stupid to like him?" Kitty sniffled again as Kiki brought her in for a hug.

"It's okay, Kitty," Kiki said comfortingly, hugging Kitty tighter. "Things can work themselves out." Kitty grabbed another tissue to blow her nose, before tossing it into the wastebasket and returning her gaze to the black cat.

"You think so?" Kitty asked. Kiki nodded. Kitty sighed with exasperation and ran a paw through her brown fur on her head. "I guess I'll have to let it go then. Forget him." Kiki nodded and hugged Kitty again, before the two glanced out the window and noticed a bulky gray hovercraft lingering outside.

"W-What is that…?" Kitty murmured, perplexed by the hovercraft's presence outside her house. That's when a red and yellow claw shot out of the hovercraft and through the window. Kitty screamed as the claw opened up and grabbed her, getting a tight grip on her.

"Kitty!" Kiki cried, desperately trying to reach for her friend, only for her to watch helplessly as the claw pulled Kitty out the window. Kiki could barely hear the sound of someone laughing as the hovercraft ascended into the sky and disappeared, taking Kitty with it. "Oh my God!" the younger cat exclaimed, still frozen in horror. She blinked a few times, before leaping off the bed and sprinting out of the room. She needed to find help, and fast.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24-

"Hey, what's that outside over there?"

Everyone turned their heads as Tangy pointed at the window. A shadowed figure was forced to duck and retreat to behind a tree before Niki and the gang returned to what they were doing.

"Probably just the wind or something," Rosie muttered while coloring a few letters in the slogan on one of Niki's posters. A tail colored different shades of purple poked out from behind the tree. Bob had been listening in through the window, as ordered by Tipper, and he was relieved when he realized he hadn't been caught. Done with his eavesdropping, Bob let himself fall on his back on the ground, rolling around in the grass to help stretch his limbs. He found a comfortable position and continued to lie there for several minutes, before remembering that he was supposed to report back to Tipper. So he leapt to his feet and rushed home to tell Tipper, who was sipping a cup of coffee in the kitchen. Bob walked into the house, his feet clomping against the silver tiled floor as he approached his comrade.

"Tipper! I have news for you!" Bob announced, leaning in to see what was in Tipper's white coffee mug.

"Sorry, you already missed _Cupcake Wars_," Tipper replied, taking another sip of her beverage. "Now, tell me what you know."

"Aww! I missed it? Again?" Bob asked, his ears drooped as he began to pout, before remembering what he meant to say. "Oh yeah. They're going to raid us! They're going to raid us and turn us in again! We should do something!"

"A raid?! What?!" Tipper exclaimed, her cheeks turning red with anger. "We have to get out of here. They know where we live. We'll just live somewhere else until we conquer the world." Bob raised his paw, as if to answer a question in class. Tipper raised her eyebrow as she placed the coffee mug on the counter.

"I have a house!" Bob chimed, grinning goofily like always. "I have a house right behind Town Hall!" Tipper's eyes brightened.

"Perfect! We'll move there right away!" Tipper exclaimed, clapping her hooves with delight, before glancing at the apple clock behind her. "It's 7:50. Go turn the TV on so we can watch _Wipeout_. Then we'll pack up and head to your place."

"Okay!" Bob replied, happily running over to the TV and turning it on. Tipper and Bob proceeded to plop down on the couch, just in time for another TV show.

* * *

><p>"So…what exactly are you guys doing?" Sonic asked, pointing to all the art supplies laid out before Niki and her friends.<p>

"Are you guys making blueprints for your mission or something?" Amy asked, looking down as an orange marker rolled up to her red and white boot.

"Haha, no," Niki said, laughing sheepishly. "My friends and I are running for Student Council at school, so our other friends are helping us make campaign posters and write speeches and stuff."

"Oh…cool," Sonic said, propping his feet up on the sofa's armrest. Niki and her friends turned around and returned to their work, when the door suddenly burst open. Everyone turned their heads yet again as a familiar black cat ran into the house, panting as she brushed a few strands of fur off her face.

"Hey Kiki. What's up?" Niki asked, Kiki's slightly disheveled appearance causing some concern. "Is everything okay?" Kiki shook her head in a lopsided fashion as she continued panting and trying to catch her breath.

"Kitty…claw…window…Kitty…hovercraft…" Kiki mumbled, too short of breath to speak coherently. Kiki was slightly bent over, cramps shooting pain through her hips and gut. Everyone else exchanged glances, confused as to what Kiki was trying to tell them.

"So…what did she say exactly?" Sara asked, staring at Kiki in bewilderment.

"Something about Kitty, a claw, and a hovercraft," Tangy responded, tapping a finger on her head as she tried to think. Kiki took a deep breath as she returned to standing upright, turning and facing everyone.

"Kitty's gone!" Kiki cried in anguish. Jaws dropped open and eyes widened.

"What?!" everyone yelled in unison. Kiki took this moment to regain more of her breath.

"Kiki, what happened?" Niki asked, worry rising in her voice. "Where's Kitty?" Kiki gulped, still in panic mode.

"Kitty and I were at her house, when this big metal claw burst through the window and grabbed her!" Kiki explained, showing no signs of calming down. "It grabbed her and left! I don't know where she went…" Kiki blinked back tears and sighed as she leaned against the wall next to the gorgeous sofa that Sonic and Amy were sitting on. "Please! You guys have to help!"

"What do you think, Sonic?" Niki asked, turning towards the blue hedgehog. Sonic was looking up at the ceiling, deep in thought until Niki's voice snapped him out of it. Without skipping a beat, Sonic turned towards the frantic black cat.

"Did you see anything else before this happened?" the hedgehog inquired, his eyes flickering with knowledge. Kiki nodded.

"Well, we saw this hovercraft outside the window before the claw came at us," Kiki said thoughtfully, recalling the event in her head. "It disappeared when Kitty did, though." Sonic spent another minute thinking, before his eyes flashed with recognition.

"That sounds like Eggman!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists and jumping onto his feet. Tails glanced from Sonic to Kiki, and he and Sonic nodded to each other.

"I think that sounds like Eggman too," the kitsune piped up. "We should probably check his base and see if Kitty's there."

"Do you guys know where his base is?" Rosie asked curiously. Everyone nodded and a few "Yeah"'s were heard.

"I know where he is," Niki said confidently. "Remember that house party we went to?" Sonic's eyes brightened and he couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"Oh yeah! I remember that!" he replied with a grin. "That was a great party."

"Well now that we have a location, we have to go," Sara said, heading for the door and motioning for everyone else to follow. Everyone else shuffled around, following Sara out the door, with Niki bringing up the rear of the pack. Niki was happy that they knew where to go, and adrenaline was pumping through her as they set out, but one thought nearly stopped in her tracks. Luckily nobody could notice her smile drop and her eyes almost bulging out. _Wait a minute…Marissa was hosting that party…that means…_

"Oh my gosh," Niki murmured under her breath, just barely out of earshot for anyone. "Marissa is working for Eggman."


End file.
